This coupled with material changes in the engine’s make-up thanks to Roush Yates, helped to push the power output to a figure that they were not that keen at disclosing when the announcement was made.
The engine itself is part of the EcoBoost family, but was called “TwinForce” in the 2007 Lincoln MKR Concept that debuted in 2007, but was given the new moniker at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit early in 2008. It is still only available in the North American market and produces 365BHP at 5,500rpm in standard trim, being used in a wide variety of vehicles including the new F-150, Taurus SHO, Police Interceptor Utility and Sedan.
But at the end of the day, the engines do have their limits, as the tuned DP engine used had an output of around the 500bhp mark that may have had extensive dyno testing, but no real hard-pushed mileage under its belt. There seemed to be issues for all three cars within the Rolex 24, especially with the #O1 Ganassi Riley-Ford suffering engine problems at the latter part of the race, causing the car’s eventual retirement. The Michael Shank #60 suffered terminal gearbox issues with the #02 Ganassi being pushed behind the wall at the latter part of the race.
You have to give credit nevertheless to Ford for going out on a limb on an engine that has not been fully proven in racing conditions, as the development race for the “Blue Oval” will still carry on at full-throttle pace. Improvement will come over time, but results will not come overnight. New technology that has not been fully proven will have its initial gremlins, which will be ironed out over time, especially when a major change to help motorsport stay relevant comes in.
The assistance that the automotive aspect of Ford that gives the V6 EcoBoost has given the technology proven credentials from a reliability standpoint, as an engine pulled off the line was brutally tortured for around 163,000 miles. It was stuck on a test bed and run for 300 hours, before being put into a F-150 Super Crew 4X4 for heavy towing exercises in both Arizona and Florida, before being put into a F150 Baja race truck and raced hard for over 2,000 miles.
EcoBoost is clearly here to stay in the United SportsCar Series, and it may not be that long before they end up on the podium and even on the top step. It just depends on how long it takes for it to happen…