New Super Duty 7.3-Liter Gas V8 Could Fit in the Raptor
Previous Raptor featured a similar V8 to the Super Duty lineup and people want a new V8 Raptor.
The 2020 Ford Super Duty debuted at the 2019 Chicago Auto Show with a new 7.3-liter gasoline V8 engine that the Motor Company promises will be the most powerful gasoline engine in the heavy duty segment. This engine will serve as a great option for a new Super Duty buyer who wants more power and capabilities than what is offered by the 6.2-liter V8, but who don’t need the monster power of the PowerStroke diesel.
However, there is a possibility that this engine could make its way into the Ford F-150 and, with any luck, into the future Raptor. While speaking with Motor Authority at the Windy City show, Ford’s Mike Levine stated that the new 7.3-liter V8 would fit in the current F-150 and Mustang, giving hope to those who have been dreaming of a Raptor with a big, powerful gasoline V8.
The V8 Raptor
During the previous generation of the Ford F-150 Raptor, it was offered with a 6.2-liter V8 that delivered 411 horsepower and 434 lb-ft of torque. The current Super Duty still uses a variation of that engine, offering 385 horsepower and 430 lb-ft of torque, so with some mechanical and tuning changes, the same basic mill was used in both the half-ton and the heavy duty lineup.
When the current generation of the Raptor was introduced with the 3.5-liter high output EcoBoost V6 with 450 horsepower and 510 lb-ft of torque, there was no question as to why Ford didn’t offer a V8 package. The only V8 truck engines as that time were the 5.0-liter from the F-150 and the 6.2-liter from the Super Duty. As mentioned above, the Super Duty engine only offers 385 horsepower and 430 lb-ft of torque while the 5.0-liter V8 offers 395 horsepower and 400 lb-ft of torque.
In other words, the EcoBoost V6 comfortably over-powers both of the company’s V8 truck engines; or at least it did prior to the arrival of the 7.3-liter V8 in the 2020 Super Duty.
7.3-Liter Power
Ford hasn’t announced power numbers for any of the 2020 Super Duty engines, but the company has stated that the new PowerStroke diesel will be stronger than ever and that the new 7.3-liter V8 will be the most powerful gasoline engine in the heavy duty segment. That is our best clue as to what to expect in terms of numbers, but it only gives us vague direction.
Right now, the most powerful gasoline engine in the heavy duty segment is the 6.4-liter Hemi from Ram, which offers 410 horsepower and 429 lb-ft of torque. This means that the new 7.3-liter V8 would only need to beat those numbers to be the strongest gas engine in the segment, so if Ford was able to tune this new mill to 425 horsepower and 450 lb-ft of torque, it would take that claim by a comfortable margin.
7.3-Powered Raptor
As mentioned above, the current 6.2-liter Super Duty V8 offers 385 horsepower and 430 lb-ft of torque. If Ford achieved similar efficiency with the 7.3-liter V8, it would offer around 455 horsepower and 510 lb-ft of torque for the Super Duty. Now take those numbers and compare them to how the 6.2-liter numbers for the F-150 and Super Duty relate and it is possible that the 7.3-liter mill for the F-150 could be tuned to deliver 500 horsepower and 515 lb-ft of torque.
Numbers like those would make an incredible engine for the future Raptor and even if the numbers were a bit lower, the new 7.3-liter V8 will be the gasoline engine that so many potential F-150 owners want to see in the performance minded machine.
Keep in mind that this is all speculation based on how Ford has made use of engines in the past, but the bottom line here is that the 7.3-liter V8 from the 2020 Super Duty will fit in the F-150 engine bay and that means that there is a chance that it would power the Raptor at some point in the future.
