The Ford F-150 is getting a lineup of four all-new engines for the 2011 model year that includes two V6s and two V8s. According to Ford, the entire new engine family will be more fuel efficient than the outgoing 4.6-liter and 5.4-liter V8 by at least 20 percent.
The same 3.7-liter V6 and 5.0-liter V8 found in the 2011 Mustang will be available at launch this fall in the F-150, as will the 6.2-liter V8 from the 2011 Super Duty truck. Then, early in 2011, the F-150 will be the first rear-wheel-drive application of the much praised 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6.
The base 3.7-liter V6 will be rated at 300 horsepower and 275 pound-feet of torque while yielding a 6,100-pound towing capacity, which matches the Silverado hybrid. The 3.7 liter will be offered in the XL, XLT and STX trim levels only. The high volume engine is expected to be the new 5.0-liter V8, which you can read more about after the jump.
Trimmed out for truck duty, Ford’s 5.0-liter V8 is down a bit in power compared to the Mustang because the intake cams have been re-profiled and the compression ratio lowered to 10.5:1 for better low end torque. In order to meet tougher durability requirements for a truck application, the steel headers of the Mustang have also been replaced with cast-iron exhaust manifolds.
The result is a rating of 360 horsepower at 5,500 rpm and 380 lb-ft of torque, which allows for a trailer tow rating of 9,800 pounds. The 5.0 is claimed to give 50 lb-ft more peak torque and higher torque across its entire range than any of the competitive V8 engines from Chrysler, General Motors, Toyota and Nissan. Unlike the base 3.7-liter V6, the 5.0 will be available in every F-150 trim level except specialty models like the SVT Raptor and Harley-Davidson. Both the 3.7-liter V6 and 5.0-liter V8 engines are also flex-fuel capable in these truck applications.
The optional V8 for the high-end Platinum edition is the 6.2-liter unit that debuted earlier this year in the SVT Raptor and Super Duty. Output of the 6.2 liter remains 411 hp and 434 lb-ft with 11,300 pounds of towing capacity. The 6.2 liter will now also be standard in the SVT Raptor and Harley-Davidson as the previous 5.4-liter V8 goes to the glue factory.
Finally, the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 brings turbocharging and direct injection to the truck lineup. The F-150’s EcoBoost will be available in every trim level from the XL to Platinum and match the 11,300-pound towing capacity of the 6.2-liter V8 while offering 20 percent better fuel efficiency than the old 5.4-liter V8. The EcoBoost’s composite intake manifold has been redesigned from earlier versions and the exhaust manifolds are now cast-iron. The turbochargers have also been revised from the units found on Ford’s passenger cars to withstand a truck’s tougher duty cycle.
The EcoBoost is expected to have similar power to the 365-hp Taurus SHO with more torque and a torque peak between 2,000 and 2,500 rpm that remains largely flat throughout the operating range. Ford is still finishing the certification of this engine and expects to release power figures in about four to six weeks.
Following Ford’s presentation, we were taken to an engine dynamometer lab where an F-150’s EcoBoost V6 was set up. The engine was not taken up to full power in front of the media, but we did see it go up to 4,000 rpm where it was held for about 10 minutes with an output of 410 lb-ft and 310 hp. Under those conditions it will hold 16 psi of boost with the turbos spinning at 175,000 rpm and a turbo temperature of 1,700 degrees F.
All of the engines are paired with Ford’s upgraded six-speed automatic transmission. Like other truck engines from Ford, these four new units also go through a 400-hour wide-open throttle durability test on a dynamometer that cycles between peak power and peak torque conditions. All of the engines also get 10,000-mile oil change intervals.
While we don’t have any official fuel economy numbers yet, we were promised that at least one of the engine options will beat the Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid’s EPA rating of 21/22 mpg. And, it will likely cost considerably less.
Turbo factory truck 
