Giant 7.3-Liter Gas V8

The 2020 Ford Super Duty Gets a Giant 7.3-Liter Gasoline V8

If you want a bigger engine in a brand-new production vehicle, you're gonna have to buy a Bugatti.

BY CHRIS PERKINS
FORD

Ford has spent the past couple years convincing F-150 buyers that they don't need a V8, offering twin-turbo EcoBoost V6s in their place. But the large-displacement V8 isn't dead. Ford just announced a brand-new V8 for the F-250 and F-350 Super Duty truck lines—and at 7.3 liters, this pushrod V8 is the largest displacement engine available in any new pickup truck today.


Ford hasn't released horsepower or torque figures for the new engine yet, but the automaker says it should be the most powerful engine in its class (meaning, gasoline-powered 2500 and 3500 pickups). The previous Super Duty offered a SOHC 6.2-liter V8 making 385 hp. The just-unveiled Chevy Silverado HD offers a 6.6-liter gasoline V8 making 401 hp, or a 6.6-liter Duramax diesel V8 with 445 hp and 910 lb-ft. The new Ram HD is available with a 6.4-liter Hemi gasser V8 making 410 hp, or a 6.7-liter Cummins diesel straight-six which, in High Output trim, makes 400 hp and 1000 lb-ft.

Ford will still offer the 6.2-liter gasoline V8 and the 6.7-liter PowerStroke turbodiesel V8 alongside the new 7.3-liter gasser. Jalopnik reports that the 6.7-liter's 450 hp and 935 lb-ft of torque should rise for the 2020 Super Duty. Each of these engines will pair with Ford's 10-speed automatic transmission, replacing the older six-speed auto.


FORD

The 7.3-liter V8 uses a cast-iron block, a forged steel crankshaft, and a two-valve cylinder head with variable valve timing. It's Ford's first pushrod gas V8 in quite some time—in recent years, the automaker preferred the DOHC 5.0-liter Coyote V8 (an evolution of the old modular V8) and the 6.2-liter SOHC motor. That might make the new cam-in-block engine seem like a step backwards, but pushrod motors are lightweight, durable, and fairly cheap to build. There's a reason both Chevy and Ram still use 'em.

Currently, the only production automotive engine larger than Ford's 7.3 is the 8.0-liter quad-turbo W16 in the Bugatti Chiron. Previously, the title belonged to the 8.4-liter V10 in the Dodge Viper, but of course, that car and engine both died in August 2017.

Ford says the new Super Duty will go on sale this fall, with power specs and other details to be announced between now and then.