Ford confirms EcoBoost for F-150, Explorer

The mighty Ford F-150 pickup is getting a V6, a potent EcoBoost powerplant.

Ford confirmed more of its plans for the rollout of EcoBoost through the end of this year. And, as expected, Ford's top-selling flagship truck will get the 3.5-liter V6 EcoBoost engine in rear-wheel-drive models. It makes 365 hp in the Taurus SHO.

Ford also confirmed what we've been predicting for more than two years--the next-generation Explorer will also get EcoBoost, a 2.0-liter four-cylinder version, which will also be used on the redone Edge crossover shown in February at the Chicago auto show.

EcoBoost is just part of a dramatic redesign of the Explorer, Ford's popular and segment-defining SUV which rose to prominence in the 1990s and has maintained a market presence, despite higher fuel prices. Based on the Explorer America concept, the new vehicle will ride on a unibody platform.

Ford also said the European C-Max will get a 1.6-liter four-cylinder EcoBoost engine.

All told, the Blue Oval said it expects to produce 1.5 million EcoBoost engines globally by 2013, which is about 200,000 more than originally anticipated. The powerplant will be offered in 90 percent of the company's North American nameplates as Ford and other automakers grapple with stricter fuel-economy standards from the federal government.

EcoBoost marries direct fuel injection, variable cam timing and turbocharging to raise performance and fuel economy in smaller-displacement engines. Ford argues its EcoBoost engines are equivalent to larger powerplants, à la the V6 is comparable to a V8.

“We are trying to get in front of the pack in leveraging EcoBoost for fuel economy,” Dan Kapp, Ford's director of powertrain research and advanced engineering, said in a statement. “It's going to be a trend in the industry, and we can't rest on our laurels for one minute. We are going to keep wringing more efficiency out of EcoBoost.”

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