Of the many milestones in the Mustang's 45-year history, one of the greatest has come to fruition. For the first time the Mustang is debuting its own V-8.
Not a derivation of an existing engine, not borrowed from a sedan, not developed to satisfy a sanctioning body, but conceived, designed, and built as a Mustang performance engine. It is the new 5.0 Four-Valve TiVCT V-8, which simultaneously pays homage to Ford history and traditional enthusiast performance expectations while fully embracing new technologies. Given its intent, performance, and mainstream production, it promises to be one of the most important Mustang V-8s of all time.
Developed under the code name Coyote, the new 5.0 was conceived in 2007 to replace the 4.6 and 5.4 Modular V-8s, which were approaching the end of their development. Ford needed a Mustang GT engine to compete against the new Chevy and Dodge efforts. While the Hurricane and Boss were explored initially-eventually a 6.2-liter SOHC Two-Valve version of that program ended up in the SVT Raptor and soon other F-150s-those large engines proved unsuitable for the Mustang. With time running short, Ford regrouped at the familiar modular engine family with plans for an all-new modular development specifically for the Mustang.
Few hard points were fixed at the Coyote's conception, but a handful were quickly set. The new engine's point of departure was the existing 4.6 modular architecture. It would not use EcoBoost- Ford's combination of direct fuel injection and turbocharging-but it would be engineered to withstand forced induction and to package EcoBoost fuel injectors in the future. The new engine would be as physically small as possible while physically stronger than the 4.6. Naturally, the team quickly landed on 5.0 liters of displacement. It needed to make 80 hp per liter, or 400 hp. Best of all, as a performance engine the Coyote development team knew the importance of delivering an exciting engine, one that just didn't meet its numbers, but had the precision and responsiveness enthusiasts crave.
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Mustang5.0 - Ford Mustang GT 5.0 Coyote Engine
