The EcoBoost 'hero engine', after the Baja 1000. Photo: Ford Motor Company
You have to give Ford credit for having huevoes mas grande: it’s one thing to prove a point about the durability of your twin-turbo V6 EcoBoost engine, but it’s something else entirely to tear it down in public. Who knows what dirty little secrets lie within the engine’s heads and cylinders walls? Do you really want to run the risk of encountering a burned valve or scored cylinder walls in front of John Q. Public? If you’re Ford and the motor in question is EcoBoost V6, serial number 448AA, the answer is, “yes, at Ford’s powertrain display at the NAIAS, on January 15th at 11:00 a.m.” It’s enough to make me wish I were going to this year’s North American International Auto Show.
Just to recap the details on engine 448AA, here’s a run-down of its life so far:
- In July, Ford pulled the completed engine at random from the assembly line, and ran it on a dyno for the equivalent of 150,000 miles.
- Next, the motor was dropped into an F-150 and used to skid 55 tons of lumber.
- The same truck and motor were used to tow an 11,300 pound trailer around Miami Homestead Speedway, for 24 hours.
- The same truck and motor were used to run head-to-head against Chevy and Dodge in an uphill towing competition. Guess who won, by a decisive margin?
- Finally, the motor was pulled and dropped into an F-150 entered in the Baja 1000. At the end of the race, the motor was pulled and will be sent to the Detroit Auto Show for a public teardown.
Is it theatrics? Perhaps, but Ford is sending two clear messages to truck buyers everywhere: first, their EcoBoost V6 is every bit as good as V8 engines from the competition; and next, turbocharged engines are no longer the fragile and temperamental creatures of years past. Ford knows what’s inside engine 448AA, since I’m sure they’ve run all sorts of tests on it after the Baja 1000. If there were anything out of spec, or any cause for concern, I seriously doubt Ford would take it apart in public. Theatrics aside, the whole campaign speaks volumes about the viability of their EcoBoost strategy and the durability of modern turbocharged motors. I don’t know about you, but I’m certainly impressed.
Source: Ford Motor Company