Ford And Prodrive Supercharge Australia

When Ford sold Aston Martin to Prodrive, Ford retained a small stake in Aston Martin. But that isn’t the only venture in which Ford and Prodrive work together. Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV) is a joint venture between Ford and Prodrive based in Melbourne Australia. And they’ve just announced a range of supercharged V8 engines. Ford? Prodrive? Australia, home of hoon-mobiles? You have our interest…

Automotive World reports that on the 7th of October FPV will launch the FPV GS and GT model ranges. These cars will be powered by Prodrive developed engines which, according to the article, are “all-new lightweight 5.0 litre supercharged V8 engines producing 315kW (428bhp) and 335kW (455bhp) of power and 545Nm (401.97 lb/ft) and 570Nm (420.41lb/ft) of torque, respectively”. The engines are based on the Coyote Ford Engines introduced to the US in the Mustang.

Bryan Mears, Prodrive’s Asia-Pacific managing director, was very proud of these engines, “The new supercharged V8 engine program represents FPV’s biggest-ever investment in the Australian market, and has been the most extensive and exhaustive development program we’ve ever undertaken. The outcome is phenomenal … these engines are brilliantly responsive, their performance is sensational, and they will take our next generation of FPV models to a level that’s simply unmatched by anyone else.”

Further details of these new engines include a double overhead cam, 32 valves and an all aluminum design. It is also Euro 4 compliant. But although the engine comes in kit form from the United States, Mr Mears was keen to downplay that fact, “It’s important to emphasize just how Australian these engines are. Although the basis of the engine is imported, all the components utilized in the supercharged configuration are locally sourced, and the engines are completely hand-made by the team at FPV in Melbourne.”

In conjunction with this V8 monster, an uprated ZF Sachs automatic gearbox will be mated to it. The gearbox will have a 7-plate clutch pack and 4-planet planetary gear set for higher torque capacity. But don’t fret, a stick will be available.

It is unclear if this powertrain will go stateside. Maybe emission laws will forbid its entry to the United States? But if Alan Mulally is serious about his “One-Ford” policy, he will bring it to America. After all, the next Focus will be a global car, so why can’t this be a global engine?