Ford has promised that the EcoBoost engine line will be the cornerstone of the Blue Oval’s fuel efficiency strategy, promising the fuel economy drivers demand and the performance they expect. So far so good, as Ford has continued to increase production of its growing line of EcoBoost engines as consumer demand surges.
If rumors of a new EcoBoost engine for the upcoming 2015 Ford F-150 prove true, demand for EcoBoost motors may just go to the moon. Ford Authority reports that the next-gen F-150 full-size pickup from Ford could receive a 2.7 liter V6 EcoBoost engine with a twin scroll turbocharger setup nicknamed “Nano.”
The engine could debut as soon as this month at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, where the 2015 Ford F-150 is set to make its world debut. As the best-selling vehicle in North America, the F-150 is kind of a big deal for Ford, and the next-generation of this high-selling pickup is said to make extensive use of aluminum in a bid to shed weight to meet fuel economy standards.
But that might not be enough, and Ford engineers are rumored to have built the 2.7 liter Nano engine in response. Said to make around 320 horsepower and 375 ft-lbs of torque, its not quite as powerful as the larger 3.5 liter EcoBoost V6, but it delivers about 90 more ft-lbs of torque than the base 3.7 liter V6. It’ll also probably deliver much better fuel economy thanks to either a a twin scroll turbo setup or a staggered setup that uses two turbochargers, a small one at lower speeds that spools up very quickly, and a larger turbo for higher RPMs that keeps the party going. Ford is already using twin-scroll technology so we’d expect them to go that route on this engine.
In addition to this new engine rumor, there’s also a rumor floating that a variant of the Nano engine line could eventually make it to the Mustang line. Could this be the eventual replacement for the current 3.7 liter that’s available in the Mustang and F150?