Spied! Ford's Scorpion 6.7L Diesel V-8 Spotted Again!
October 9, 2008
By Benson Kong
Earlier spy shots of the Ford's new diesel engine revealed the Scorpion-equipped test trucks had raised hoods. A recent spy shot revealed why, and it's because the new radiators equipped on the trucks are even bigger than before. The larger radiator is presumably needed for the extra cooling necessary for extreme towing applications. The radiator looked large enough to need to be canted backward to fit underneath the hood.
For the 2008 Super Duty, Ford had increased the size of the radiator by 33% for the then-new 6.4L V-8 Power Stroke diesel. With the new in-house-designed Scorpion, the radiator looked be another 10 to 20% bigger than the already-large radiator used for 2008 models.
The new Scorpion engine was designed and built in-house when Ford's contract with former Power Stroke diesel engine supplier Navistar was terminated. A naming dispute also added to the tension between Ford and Navistar.
The Scorpion diesel will share several key characteristics with rival GM's revolutionary new light-duty 4.5L Duramax V-8 diesel engine. Compared with conventional diesel-engine design, intake and exhaust flow through the cylinder heads has been reverse, and the exhaust now seats directly into the dual sequential turbochargers sitting in the engine's valley. Additionally, the Scorpion will use lighter aluminum cylinder heads, rather than the conventional cast-iron heads. With these new upgrades, power is purportedly going to be more than 390 hp and 720 lb-ft of torque, while achieving a gas mileage improvement of 3 mpg or more thanks to Ford's new six-speed automatic transmission, already in use for the 2009 Ford F-150s.
Ford's current Power Stroke diesel is rated at 350 hp and 650 lb-ft of torque.