10 Of Ford's Most Powerful Engines, Ranked By Horsepower

Ford has a reputation for building muscle, and that muscle extends far beyond the showroom floor. Over the years, Ford has produced memorable vehicles like the Shelby GT350, Shelby GT500, Ford GT supercar, and the all-new Ford F-150 Raptor R pickup truck, to name a few. These are but a testament to Ford's engineering prowess, each with its ludicrous performance that could propel you from 0 to 60 mph in a blur.

We'll be ranking these engines based on the sheer grunt they produce. In addition, we'll delve deeper to find other manufacturers like the Australian outfit Brabham and Swedish automaker Koenigsegg, who came knocking for a taste of the blue oval power. So, hold on as we explore the engineering brilliance behind the powerhouses that make Ford's vehicles sing. Prepare to be surprised not only by the V8 marvels, but also by some V6 contenders that refuse to be left behind. These engines break the 400 horsepower barrier and climb past a staggering 700 horsepower.

The Power Stroke engine family comprises the Lion V6, Puma five-cylinder, and Scorpion V8. These diesel engines power vehicles ranging from sedans to SUVs to vans to trucks. The Scorpion V8 is the most powerful of the lineup, and it's commonly used in the Super Duty truck lineup. Ford introduced the 6.7-liter Power Stroke Scorpion V8 in 2011, boasting better fuel economy and 400 horsepower and 800 lb-ft of torque. This Power Stroke Scorpion V8 had a single sequential turbocharger with a single turbine and dual compressor setup.

Ford further updated it in 2015, introducing a single Garret GT37 turbocharger, which upped the engine's performance to 440 horsepower and 860 lb-ft of torque. In 2020, Ford revised the V8's boost and programming, upping its torque from 935 lb-ft to 1,050 lb-ft, the highest torque output in Ford's lineup. In the Super Duty trucks, the 6.7-liter V8 is available alongside a 6.2-liter and a 7.3-liter gasoline V8s. Fortunately, the Power Stroke Scorpion V8 is the most powerful engine in the lineup, producing 475 horsepower and 1,050 lb-ft of torque.

Like the Godzilla V8, the Power Stroke is only available with a 10-speed TorqShift automatic transmission in the Super Duty trucks. Ford also powers the larger medium-duty trucks with the Godzilla or the Power Stroke Scorpion V8. Here, the detuned Power Stroke Scorpion V8 pairs with a six-speed TorqShift automatic transmission and produces 330 horsepower and 750 lb-ft of torque.

The Coyote V8 is a naturally aspirated engine and part of Ford's modular engine family. The Coyote marked Ford's first use of Twin Independent Variable Cam Timing in a V8 engine, a technology more common in Ford's V6 engines. Ford introduced the Coyote V8 in the 2011 Mustang GT and F-150 pickup truck. The Coyote V8 in the Mustang produced 412 horsepower and 390 lb-ft of torque, helping it compete with the LS3 in the Camaro. While that didn't equate to more power than the Camaro, the Mustang GT was more powerful than its predecessor's 4.6-liter V8 with 315 horsepower and 325 lb-ft of torque.

The engine is paired with a six-speed manual transmission as standard or an optional six-speed automatic. Ford's Coyote V8 was also more fuel-efficient than the Camaro's LS3. It had an EPA fuel economy rating of 18 mpg city, 25 mpg highway, and 20 mpg combined. In 2013, Ford improved the Coyote's output to 420 horsepower and 390 lb-ft of torque, making the Mustang a worthy rival to the Camaro. Over the years, the Coyote V8 engine has been used in multiple Mustangs, including the 2013 Boss 302, which produced 444 horsepower and 380 lb-ft of torque.

For the 2018 model year, Ford increased the Coyote's output to 460 horsepower and 420 lb-ft of torque. This was thanks to Ford's use of direct and port injection, first in a V8 engine. Currently, the Coyote V8 powers the seventh-generation Ford Mustang. The 2024 Mustang Dark Horse produces 500 horsepower and 418 lb-ft of torque, 100 horsepower per liter. This version of the Coyote V8 has a dual throttle body design and an innovative dual air intake box, enabling higher air flow rates to minimize induction loss.

The Triton V8 is part of Ford's modular engine lineup, initially used in SUVs and large trucks. Over the years, this naturally aspirated V8 found its way into vehicles like the Ford Expedition, Ford F-150, and Lincoln Navigator. The Triton V8 first appeared in the 1997 Ford F-Series lineup, boasting 235 horsepower and 330 lb-ft of torque. It was the most potent option in the lineup at the time, with the two 4.2- and 4.6-liter V6 engines producing 210 horsepower. This version of the Trinity V8 used a single overhead cam design, aluminum cylinder heads, and a cast iron engine block. It also featured a forged steel crankshaft, fracture-split powder metal connecting rods, roller finger followers, and multi-port fuel injection.

1999 marked the largest shift of the Trinity V8 engine because of the dual overhead cam design. This variant was first used in the Lincoln Navigator, producing 300 horsepower and 360 lb-ft of torque. Ford started using this version of the Trinity V8 in 2000, appearing in the SVT Mustang Cobra R. The SVT Mustang Cobra R produced 385 horsepower and 385 lb-ft of torque, helping it sprint from 0 to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds, reach a 170-mph top speed, and finish the quarter mile in 13.2 seconds.

The Ford GT and the Shelby GT500 were the next vehicles to use the Triton V8, with the GT producing 550 horsepower and 500 lb-ft of torque. The Shelby GT500 started with 500 horsepower and 480 lb-ft of torque but later upped it to 550 horsepower and 510 lb-ft of torque. While this was the most performance the Trinity V8 offered in Ford vehicles, Brabham pushed it to produce 691 horsepower and 492 lb-ft of torque in the BT62.

The Trinity V8 is a supercharged engine from Ford's SVT division, which powered the 2013 to 2014 Ford Shelby GT500. While it is no longer in production, the Trinity V8 shared parts with the Coyote and Triton, including the piston cooling oil jets and camshafts. The SVT division also reworked the cylinder heads to improve coolant airflow, added a five-layer MLS head gasket, increased the compression ratio, and added an over-rev function to increase the redline from 6,250 rpm to 7,000 rpm for up to eight seconds.

The Trinity V8 also used an Eaton 2.3-liter TVS supercharger with up to 14 psi of boost. All these upgrades helped the Trinity V8 produce 662 horsepower and 631 lb-ft of torque. This translated to a quick 0 to 60 mph time of 3.5 seconds and a quarter mile run of 11.6 seconds. These upgrades also helped make the Shelby GT500 more powerful than the 2014 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, which also had a supercharged 6.2-liter V8 with 580 horsepower and 556 lb-ft of torque.

This 4.6-liter engine started as a naturally aspirated V8 used in SUVs, sedans, vans, trucks, and sports cars. The 4.6-liter V8 has been around from 1990 to 2014. One of the first vehicles to feature this engine was the 1991 Lincoln Town Car. It produced 190 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque. Despite having a single overhead camshaft design, this version of the 4.6-liter V8 eventually produced a maximum of 265 horsepower and 305 lb-ft of torque in the 2001 Mustang GT Bullitt. Eventually, the engine received a dual overhead camshaft design in 1993, powering the Lincoln Mark VIII. The 4.6-liter V8 produced 280 horsepower and 285 lb-ft of torque in this configuration. This engine had an aluminum block, tumble-style intake ports, fixed runner-length intake manifolds, and new camshaft profiles.

Koenigsegg first used the 4.6-liter V8 in the CC8S, fitting it with a supercharger to produce 655 horsepower and 553 lb-ft of torque. However, the most powerful variant of the 4.6-liter V8 was in the CCR, boasting two superchargers to produce 795 horsepower and 678 lb-ft of torque. In addition to the two Rotrex superchargers, the 4.6-liter V8 had a dry sump and a carbon fiber cam cover. Koenigsegg's upgrades helped the CCR achieve a 0 to 62 mph time of 3.2 seconds, set a quarter mile time of 9 seconds, and reach a top speed of over 242 mph. The CCR's impressive performance helped make it the world's fastest production car in 2005, outperforming the McLaren F1, which had an eight-year record.