I realize that, in many ways, modernity is piping-hot garbage. But when it comes to being able to shove colossal amounts of horsepower into a car relatively easily, we live in a motherclutching golden age. I say this because Ford has just announced two new crate engines, a 5.0-liter Coyote V8 making 800+ horsepower and 615 pound-feet of torque, and the next iteration of the Megazilla 7.3-liter V8, this time making over 1,000 hp. Just imagine how much peppier your ’89 Ford Tempo will be when you drop one of these babies in there!
For installation in a Tempo, you may have to do some fabrication work to make it rear-wheel drive, though I say don’t rule out a transverse, front-wheel drive setup, because the torque steer when you first stomp on the gas is probably enough to set the car spinning so fast it opens a portal to another dimension, and there may be some cool shit in there.
These new iterations of Ford’s crate engines get their bonkers power numbers from a lot of tweaks, but most significant is the addition of Gen 6 3.0-liter Whipple Supercharger, seen here with its inventor, Mr.Whipple:
A 3-liter supercharger! That’s three times the displacement of my daily driver!
The Megazilla 2.0 engine also includes, according to Ford, “forged pistons, connecting rods, and a steel crank, ported and polished cylinder heads, and upgraded valve springs.”
The 1,000 hp Megazilla 2.0 engine is, sadly, only for racing or off-road use. It’s not legal for a street vehicle, though if you sneak one into a Pinto and try and make it look like a rusty old 2-liter inline-four, I’m sure as hell not going to tell anybody. The 5.0 Coyote V8 is completely street-legal, and not only that, it comes with a two-year or 24,000-mile limited warranty.
The engines are designed for easy installation into project, kit, and low-volume cars, complete with full wiring harnesses and ECUs and all that. Pricing has not been mentioned for either engine, though I wouldn’t expect these to be cheap; that supercharger alone can go for like $9 grand. Still, these are turnkey engines, with pretty much everything you need.
What an age we live in! Terrible decisions and sketchy project car plans have never had such boundless potential!
More old guy jokes for you…. Remember “Twist-o-Flex” watch bands? That’s gonna be the name of the Fox body, Fairmont wagon, I throw this monster into….
Instead of just burning rubber you will also hear “Snap, Crackle, Pop!”.
I had an 88 Tempo i used to autocross.
This woulda ruined the handling 😉
$9 Gs’s? $9,000 smackeroos? Why for that money, I could buy three, 3, trey, Chinese mini-cars! Lol
I’ll take 5.0 Coyote and 800hp… and put it in a 2007 Ford Focus, converted to RWD using old Mustang drive train and running gear! It would be such a great sleeper!
Why not a sleeper 4 door Fairmont? Take the kids to the mall, or take out Camaros.
How does the width of Megazilla 2.0 compare to the width of a 302 Windsor?
The dual engine Honda story is still bouncing around my brain, so I think the correct answer for the Tempo is Coyote in the front and Zilla in the back.
Mr. Whipple looks like he is playing an accordion.
Just imagine what an engine being force fed air via an accordion would sound like. And maybe a smaller engine would be fed with a concertina.
MegAztekilla
Just sayin’
Even bigger Altima energy.
If I put this into a car that is 25 years or older in my state, it’s legal.
I hate that I’m old enough to get the Whipple joke.
OK but what’s to actually keep someone from putting this in a road car? Laws? Is that it? Pffft.
If there is no emissions testing in your county/state then it’s perfectly legal to swap this engine into a car for road use. I’m not sure where Jason is getting that idea from.
Fully certified quantum mechanic required for dimensional portal attempts!
Please don’t squeeze the Charmin. P&G outsources American labor, Mr Whipple, and replaces him with fucking cartoon bears who can’t wipe their butts.
Old guy says thank you!
Use it as the basis for a full Singer-style restomod (Ringbrothers maybe, since domestic) of a Lincoln Mark V? Maybe the contemporary Thunderbird? So much torque, so effortless you might never actually have to touch the gas pedal.
Huh I guess I don’t get the Whipple joke. I bet it’s fantastic though.
Google “Don’t squeeze the Charmin”.
I hadn’t thought of Mr. Whipple in ages. I wonder if he brags “when I retired they had to hire four bears to replace me”?
Someone’s gonna hook up a megazilla to riding lawnmower. Can’t wait to see that video on YouTube. Does Whistlin’ Diesel happen to read the comments here?
Perfect. I figure if we all pitch in, we can stuff this in a Mirai and have a supersleeper bad motherfucker of a Camry.
Next Autopian project vehicle?