New Ford 7.3-Liter "Godzilla" Gasoline V-8 Coming for Super Duty Lineup
Ford is referring to its new gasoline V-8, a.k.a. "Godzilla," as "best in class"; it's rated for 430 horsepower at 5500 rpm and 475 lb-ft of torque at 4000 rpm.
Look for it to arrive first in the Ford F-250 and F-350 HD Super Duty models, followed shortly thereafter in the entire HD and commercial lineup.
The arrival of the new 7.3-liter V-8 signals the end of the line for the modular V-10.
Ford clued us in on its new-for-2020 gasoline V-8 more than six months ago, but just today the automaker revealed horsepower and torque numbers for the optional engine. It's rated for 430 horsepower at 5500 rpm and 475 lb-ft of torque at 4000 rpm, and Ford is referring to the new gasoline V-8 as, you guessed it, "best in class."
For the time being, that claim is 100 percent legit. GM's most powerful engine in the gasoline HD space is its 6.6-liter V-8, which is rated at 401 hp and 464 lb-ft. (GM's 6.2-liter V-8 is only offered in half-ton trucks but is less potent regardless.) Ram's 6.4-liter gasoline Hemi V-8 is rated at 410 hp and 429 lb-ft. This being the extremely competitive truck world, however, don't expect these rankings to remain static for too long.
The arrival of this new 7.3-liter V-8, referred to internally as "Godzilla," signals the end of the line for the modular V-10, an ancient but sturdy commercial-vehicle lump—save for the well-known teething issues with the spark-plug removal—whose reckoning was long overdue. Well aware of the fact that familiarity and proven reliability makes it with no-nonsense commercial Class 2 through Class 7 crowd, Ford wisely stayed with a pushrod design with a forged steel crankshaft with extra-large main bearings, but added a variable-displacement oil pump and piston cooling jets for better temperature management under heavy load. Although all the makers offer superb and superbly powerful diesel engines, many contractors and independent companies need gasoline-powered equipment, for the sake of location, convenience, regulations, or fleet management. Ford also points out that some casual F-250 and F-350 owners might desire a little extra capability under the hood but may not be ready to fully commit to the expense of upgrading to a diesel.
Arriving first in the Super Duty F-250 and F-350 pickup models, the new engine joins the 6.2-liter V-8 gas engine and 6.7-liter Power Stroke diesel in the lineup. A slightly less powerful version of the new 7.3, rated at 350 horsepower at 3900 rpm and 468 lb-ft of torque at 3900 rpm, will be standard on the F-450 chassis cab, the F-550, the new F-600, F-650 and F-750 Medium Duty trucks, and F-53 and F-59 stripped-chassis models. Details on a special fuel-saving calibration will be announced later this year. Towing and payload numbers are pending.
A new 10-speed automatic transmission based on the unit currently in use in the F-150 will mate with the 7.3 in the F-250 and F-350 versions and up through the vehicle range to a point. Although fuel-economy numbers are rarely revealed for this class of vehicles, Ford is indicating improvements for the models equipped with the 10-speed. The transmission has been heavily revised for use in a heavy-duty application, according to Ford. You can still spec the six-speed in the F-250 pickup and the F-350 chassis. The really big stuff, namely the hard-core F-650 and F-750 trucks, stripped-chassis F-53 and F-59, and E-350 and E-450 chassis-cab models, will continue to use the double-overdrive version of the six-speed transmission.
As an additional teaser, Ford also states that power numbers for the upgraded 6.7-liter Power Stroke diesel will be announced later this year. Seriously, after this, you just knew this was coming, right?
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