While this completely new engine shares the same displacement, it’s a huge step up from the pushrod small-block that initially cranked out about 175 horsepower decades ago. This new iteration is a sophisticated, lightweight (174 kilograms) DOHC gem that delivers an impressive 412 ponies and 390 pound-feet of torque, plus an expected fuel rating of 9.4 litres per 100 kilometres on the highway and 13.8 L/100 km in the city. It also produces fewer emissions.

“The heart of this engine is in its breathing,” Harrison says. Its aluminum four-valves-per-cylinder heads have been configured to allow more room for high-flow ports, while the head structure has been designed to support higher cylinder head pressures and cross-flow cooling for sustained high-rpm use. Even the size of the head bolts has been increased one millimetre to 12 mm to keep the highercombustion pressures contained.

A technology developed by Ford engineers called twin independent variable camshaft timing (Ti-VCT) capitalizes on the improved head design, resulting in a substantial increase in torque and more immediate engine response across a wide rpm range. Basically, it works like a ratchet, using the torque of the four camshafts (two intake, two exhaust) to advance or retard the camshaft timing. Ford says the abundance of available torque and increased responsiveness will be immediately noticeable when the driver pushes the go pedal — and improved fuel efficiency will be 
obvious, too.

Source: National Post (blog)