Apparently, 2020 is the year that the every manufacturer will be upgrading their heavy-duty truck lineup. Dodge released its last year with their new Cummins-powered truck putting out 1000-lb/ft of torque, and Chevy just introduced their new workhorse at its Flint, Michigan Assembly plant on February 5th. But what is Ford up to? Stepping in a direction far from the way they’ve been heading, Ford has just unveiled its all new 7.3-liter gasoline V8 engine for their new Super Duty line of trucks.
The Ford Big Block will consist of an iron block with a pushrod valve design. This will be Ford’s first pushrod V8 in two decades, and instead of following the path of the EcoBoost, where little is more, the new engine is one of the largest displacement engines Ford has made.
While it is not yet known exactly how much power it will make, considering its truck application, the new 7.3-liter will likely focus on torque, rather than horsepower. The current year 6.2L makes 430 lb/ft of torque, at almost 70 lb/ft of torque per liter, it could be estimated that the new engine will make somewhere in the ballpark of 500 lb/ft of torque.
Based on displacement alone, the new power plant should be plenty capable, available horsepower and torque are not the only benefits touted by Ford. Because of the pushrod architecture, the simplicity of the design makes maintenance easier, increases durability, and even reduces long term ownership costs.
So far, the engine is only designated for the 2020 Ford Super Duty trucks and will be mated to Fords new 10-speed automatic transmission. Although there are no current plans to officially put Fords new behemoth in a Mustang or a Raptor, Ford spokesman Mike Levine has stated that he expects to see a conversion in one of the two at SEMA at some point.
Elizabeth is hardcore horsepower enthusiast with unmatched intensity for making things faster and louder. She wakes up for power and performance and only sleeps to charge up for the next project that’s heading to the track. From autocross to drag racing, Elizabeth is there with you, so stay tuned for her unique perspective on horsepower news, builds, tech info, and installs — with her, it’ll never be boring!
