Ford Motor Co. will charge a premium of around $700 for its much- touted EcoBoost engine system when it goes on sale in 2009.
A 3.5-liter V6 with EcoBoost will arrive next year on the Lincoln MKS sedan and Ford Flex crossover.
The V6 with EcoBoost is slated for the Ford F-150 in 2010, and the pickup application will produce "significantly more" than 340 hp and
340 lb-ft-torque, said Brett Hinds, Ford's advanced engine design manager. That tops the 300-hp rating of the largest engine -- a 5.4- liter V8 -- in the current F-150.
NoOp Comment: "Significantly more than 340HP/lb-ft-torque". A 375ish HP twin turbo V6 would be an interesting option for the Mustang. Dial the boost up a little and free-up the exhaust and you'd likely have around 450 low-cost ponies.
EcoBoost technology combines turbocharging and gasoline direct injection. A V6 with EcoBoost gets as much as 20 percent better fuel economy than a conventional V8, Ford says. It also improves performance and will enable the company to replace V8s with V6s and V6s with four-cylinder engines.
NoOp Comment: Direct injection rocks! Too bad it can't be retro- fitted.
The fuel savings will enable buyers to recoup the premium paid for EcoBoost technology within two years, Hinds said. When going from a V8 to a V6 with EcoBoost, Ford estimates annual savings at $339 when driving 15,000 miles per year with gasoline costing $3.25 a gallon.
"The consumer is actually going to be paying himself back on his investment," Hinds said. "Within right around two years, you'll actually break even on your initial purchase premium."
Ford also said that four-cylinder engines with EcoBoost will debut in
2010 in North America and Europe.
The company didn't disclose vehicles to be equipped with the four cylinder. Six-cylinder engines with EcoBoost will have twin turbochargers, while the four-cylinder engines will have a single turbocharger.
Patrick