As far as the confirmation of rumors goes, this right here is about as good as it gets. Recently, a Ford employee updated their LinkedIn profile to reflect some recent work experience on the new Ford Mustang. Moreover, that work experience includes the development of hybrid powertrains. The best part?

We’re not even talking about the Ford Mustang Mach E. This employee allegedly worked on the full-fat Mustang sports car.

LinkedIn proves useful, giving away new Mustang details

For the sake of this Ford employee’s privacy, we won’t be showcasing their profile here. However, we’ve seen the profile with our own eyes. That said, the specifics of this employee’s tenure at Ford are rather interesting. According to this nameless employee’s profile, they worked in powertrain development on the S650-gen Mustang program for five months. During that five months, they did something some Mustang diehards might consider sacrilegious.

This Blue Oval employee worked on “low and high-pressure package analysis” for the Mustang’s 2.3L and 5.0L engines. That’s the four-cylinder and V8 options for the current ‘Stang. Some snooping revealed that those engines, which go in the Ford Mustang, are part of a hybrid powertrain. Big news to say the least.

What can we expect from the new Ford Mustang?

Honestly, that tidbit of information raised more questions than it answers. Yes, the Ford Mustang will be getting a hybrid powerplant soon, possibly for the 2023 model year. But what does that application look like? We could be talking about a myriad of integration techniques used across the auto industry. For starters, we might see a sort of Audi RS6 style system that fills in holes in torque left by gear changes. Lamborghini’s Sian uses the same thing.

More interestingly, we could be looking at full-on electric motors used for an AWD system. An AWD Ford Mustang. Wild. Supposing that’s the case, expect motors borrowed from the Mach E (and Mach E GT) placed on the front axle of the Mustang. That could also mean the potential for a RWD-only mode, and a FWD electric-only mode, sort of like the Ferrari SF90.

How much will the new Mustang cost?

In reality, hybrid integration for the Ford Mustang is a necessity. The world doesn’t have a whole lot of room left for big V8’s that get 6 MPG and make 600 hp. Electric drivetrains could save the Mustang. Hell, the Mustang Mach E could have been a testing ground for the whole thing! Either way, Ford is tight-lipped on the subject of the new Mustang for now. However, we expect prices to shift nominally for the new model in order to accommodate tooling for the hybrid stuff. For now, we’ll have to wait for confirmation from the Blue Oval.