Recently Ford announced it was retooling its storied Windsor engine plant to produce a new 7X eight-cylinder engine. Apparently that powerplant is set to motivate some of its popular truck offerings, including the forthcoming F-150 Raptor.
“All we’ve said is that it’s going to be a global engine and we’re going to have all kinds of flexible equipment, but we’re not saying anything about the engine, yet,” Ford’s president of the Americas Joe Hinrichs told Automotive News Canada.
Currently the birthplace of engines like the 5.0-liter V8 and 6.8-liter V10, the Ford Essex Engine Plant in Windsor will soon build the new 7X engine. (Photo Credit: Ford Motor Company)
Brian Maxim, a vice president at AutoForecast Solutions, told Reuters the 7X is a 7.0-liter V8 engine that would have more torque and be more fuel-efficient than the current 6.8-liter V10 engine, but previous leaks of oil requirements for forthcoming engines have pegged the new engine at a whopping 7.3 liters. Either way the possibility of a big-inch eight-banger in a world hurtling toward electrification is tantalizing.
While the news of a big-block Windsor with direct injection is certainly exciting, a passing mention in the 7X coverage is sobering for fans of the Coyote V8, which is currently built in the Canadian plant.
This leaked document not only confirmed that a blown 5.2 will power the next Shelby GT500, but that a 7.3-liter gas engine was on the way as well. Does it refer to the 7X or does it reference the extant 7.3 diesel without mentioning that key detail. Some rumors say the 7X engine may even mark a return to old-school pushrod technology.
“New investment in engine production in Canada was seen as vital because the large V8 and V10 motors now built by Ford in Windsor were expected to end production in four years,” the Reuters report said. Could that mean the Coyote is howling toward extinction?
With the Mustang standing as the lone car in North America, it may have to lean on other vehicles to share development costs. Hopefully this new investment in big gas engines will include something for our beloved pony car as well…