Could it find a home here? Ford's new 3.5 V6 puts out 250 hp, enough to make the already quick base Mustang really fly?
All of a sudden there's buzz all over about Ford's new 3.5L DOC V6, even though we've known about this motor for quite a while. Originally this motor was supposed to come out late this year, but for some reason it's being delayed until some time in 2006. Scheduled to appear first in the Ford Edge and Lincoln Aviator Crossover SUVs, it will eventually be the main motor for FoMoCo products from the Fusion triplets to the 500. Now I've linked to the BlueOvalNews article, but if you really want to see more pictures and information check out Jeff Fisher's site.
Now both of these picture show a 3.5 for a front/all wheel drive application, but Jeff says he's seen development units for rear wheel drive. That would imply that this motor will replace the 4.0 L SOHC V6 in the Mustang . That's a good thing, the 250 hp, 240 lb ft of torque will be more inline with the Mustang's sporting nature. Intersting items from the article are that Ford designed this motor with Gasoline Direct Injection, Turbo Charging in mind. So hopefully we will see more powerful and efficient versions of this engine in the future. Currently only the new Mazdaspeed 6 uses both of these technologies in the US. Not that the 3.5 isn't putting out decent power, 250 hp puts it right in the middle of the pack and slightly ahead of some competitors. If you want to know more, check out the link above and Jeff's site; http://www.jwfisher.com/ He's got more information and pics than BlueOvalNews and he's had them up for over a month.Now I wonder how much power the 3.5 would put out with the Turbo and Direct Injection? And how much better milage? And could we get a 6 speed manual?
2 comments:
Dotty, I think that's the nature of all OHC engines, for low end torque, the pushrod engines always do better, just like your GTO's motor and the Hemi.
I'm a bit biased here, but that engine should have similar driving characteristics as a 95-99 US-spec BMW M3. Which is to say, pretty darned nice, and not at all gutless at low RPM.
Unless they can get the cost down though, I don't see this going into the base Mustang, though it'd be a nice "midline" option between the base and the GT.
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