The current Ford F-150 Raptor is a beast with its high-output 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 engine making an impressive 450 horsepower and 510 pound-feet of torque. The high-output EcoBoost engine certainly isn’t lacking on the performance front, but some Raptor customers miss the V8 character, along with the associated engine and exhaust notes delivered by first-generation F-150 Raptor truck. Luckily, they won’t have to miss it for much longer.
Sources familiar with Ford product plans speaking to Ford Authority on the basis of anonymity tell us that Ford is planning to offer a future version of the F-150 Raptor with an eight-cylinder engine for an upcoming ultra-high-performance variant of the truck. Which eight-cylinder engine such a model will receive has not yet been decided, but the two front-runners are the supercharged 5.2L Voodoo V8 from the Mustang Shelby GT500 as well as the 7.3L V8 Godzilla that will soon become available in the 2020 Ford Super Duty. Let’s dig into the juicy details.
Back in March, we reported on a rumor that the Ford F-150 Raptor was going to get the supercharged 5.2L V8 from the 2020 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500. That engine is expected to make somewhere north of 700 horsepower, though Ford has yet to release the official figures.
By comparison, very little is currently known about the 7.3-liter V8 engine besides its code-name, Godzilla, and the fact that it utilizes an OHV (OverHead Valve) layout. The only concrete info that Ford has released about the new V8 for the F-Series Super Duty is that it will be “the most powerful [gasoline] V8 in its class.”
Our sources gave no details on specifications for the engine if it were to land in the F-150 Raptor, but said that it would be safe to assume that the massive eight-banger would offer more power and torque than the High-Output 3.5L EcoBoost V6. In other words, a Ford F-150 Raptor with the 7.3-liter Godzilla V8 engine would make at least the 450 horsepower and 510 pound-feet of torque currently produced by the 3.5L EcoBoost HO in the F-150 Raptor.
It’s worth noting that the 7.3-liter V8 can fit under the hood of the Mustang, but the motor is meant for truck duty, rather than sports cars… though one could argue that the Ford F-150 Raptor splits the gap between sports car and a pickup truck.
In any event, Ford is definitely testing the F-150 Raptor with a V8 engine. Whether it’s the supercharged 5.2L Voodoo or the atmospheric 7.3L Godzilla is currently unknown.
Whatever V8 ends up under the hood of the Raptor, it will be offered alongside the HO 3.5L EcoBoost, rather than replacing it outright, thereby creating an ultra-high-performance version of the Raptor. We like the sound of that, don’t you?
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Comments
You mean the one that won lemans four times in a row? Ford old and new stuff is to be enjoyed! And the V8 from the 50s aside from the flat head was the Y block in the 292ci-353ci range. The 7 liter stuff came in the 60s and that engine in the Ford GT40 beat all comers all night long. Thank s
Just because it was a good design 50 years ago doesn’t mean it can compete now. Even the new Corvettes are going DOHC.
@Steve J:
The new 7.3l powerplant is quite possibly the most trick OHV of our generation: huge bore spacing, camshaft located high in the block, and cylinder heads that best any current OEM wedge offering.
Or… We could just say it’s lame because it’s OHV. ?
I think the 7.3 Godzilla engine would be great! It would take a lot of hardcore duty to make that beast flinch.
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It’s about dag on time! The 3.5L Ecoboost V6 belongs in the ranger along with the 3.0L twin turbo and the 2.3L Turbo. Mustangs and Trucks should have V8 engines, the Explorer should have a V8, the Expedition should have a V8, Ford should have a 4-door sedan stablemate to the mustang (CD6 RWD/AWD) with a V8. Even if they are smaller displacement 4.0L twin turbo and 4.4L twin turbo Ecoboost V8 engines, That whole lineup should have V8 engines.
I’m old school and that big 7.3L OHV V8 is king….But at the end of the day, it would make sense to have a choice of either DOHC or OHV V8 engines….Just my view anyway….FORD V8 POWER
The new 7.3 is far from a relic friends. This motor will be an absolute tank. N/A an educated guess would be 440+ hp and 510+ torque also the motor is already setup for boost. A raptor with this engine will be an animal.
Which engine is lighter? For an off-road machine, I’d think weight would be one of the most important considerations (part of the reason the Power Wagon has never had a Cummins).
The engine will probably weigh sub 600 lbs. It’s a hair longer than the 6.2 but narrower. And that engine weighs 590 so Hope’s are it will truly be a bullet proof engine.
Does the new gen. Ford GT get a V-8 too?
GT35O is the Voodoo, GT500 is the Predator
Not in time for the upcoming 24 of LeMans unfortunately
Last I heard Ford was ending the GT program. No plans for a next gen. This is also the last year for the factory backed Ford GT racing program.