Images credit: James Stanford for PickupTrucks.com

The folks over in the Land of Oz tend to get a lot of pretty cool performance automobiles that are either never produced here in the states or eventually navigate across the pond after a rebadging job. And they are about to get another one.

Ford Performance Vehicles, the muscle car division of Ford Motor Company Australia has announced its latest high performance car-based pickup truck, the Falcon Ute, that will be powered by an all-new, factory-developed, supercharged version of the hot ticket Boss 5.0-liter V8 engine. If you’ve never seen the Ute pickup before, it is very reminiscent in design of Chevrolet’s infamous El Camino in that it looks like a car but sports a truck bed.

Unlike Ford Racing’s dealer-installed supercharger kit commonly found on the 2011 Mustang here in the US, the Australian Boss 5.0 will feature a unique supercharger with Eaton twin-screw rotors atop an Australian-sourced Harrop intake manifold. The engine will also house a host of high performance components that differ from the standard 5.0 found in the Mustang.

Ford will offer two versions of the Boss V8 for the Ute: a base engine pumping out 428 horsepower and 402 ft-lbs of torque, and a higher-end version making 456 horses and 421 ft-lbs of torque. Part of a $32 million project by Ford Performance Vehicles, these engines are expected to give the Ute a 0-60 time of under five seconds.

At its core will be a standard 5.0-liter block and heads, but with unique cam timing and exhaust valve, along with stronger connecting rods, pistons, a cast stainless steel exhaust manifold, accessory drive, and engine oil cooler. FPV has achieved these impressive horsepower and torque figures with a relatively low 5-6 pounds of boost, leaving more than enough room for the enthusiast to crank it up a notch.

The Boss 5.0 engine will be paired up with the options of a six-speed ZF automatic transmission or a new version of Tremec’s six-speed manual. FoMoCo says they have no plans to introduce the Ute here in the states, however, a non-supercharged version of the 5.0-liter will soon find its way into the 2011 F-150 pickup.