Is Ford's new EcoBoost engine a Mazda in disguise?

July 22, 12:21 PMSan Jose Auto Industry ExaminerArt Michalik

Previous Next

7 comments Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the San Jose Auto Industry Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

It may well be that Ford's new EcoBoost engine is in fact a Mazda engine re-badged

Ford Motor Co. announced Tuesday that it will offer a four-cylinder EcoBoost engine for some of its vehicles starting next year, an effort to provide greater fuel economy to consumers without compromising on horsepower.

At a showcase of the company's 2010 model lineup, Barb Samardzich, Ford's vice president for global powertrain engineering, said the I-4 EcoBoost two-liter, four-cylinder engine will make a vehicle perform like one carrying a six-cylinder engine.

The specifications provided by Ford: a 2-liter, four cylinder engine with twin overhead cams, variable valve timing, direct gasoline injection (DGI), and turbocharging all sound an awful lot like Mazda's MZR engine as installed in the Mazdaspeed3, among others. Compare the output of the 2.3-liter MZR engine from the Mazdaspeed 3 (officially the MZR L3-VDT) which produces 263 HP and 280 lb-ft of torque compared to the smaller 2.0 liter Ford engine's announced 230 HP and 240 lb-ft of torque, the performance of the two is very much in line with their relative displacements.

The Mazda MZR L3-VDT was on automotive industry trade publication Ward's 10 Best Engines list for the years 2006, 2007 and 2008.

Other Mazda engines have been rebadged and used in Ford vehicle in the past, most recently under the Duratec name from 2001 on.

Ford announced last November that it would be selling part of its 20% stake in Mazda bringing, its share to 13.4%, and the process surrender majority control of the company. The following day Mazda announced that it was purchasing back 6.8% of its shares from Ford.

We'll know more when further specifications of the Ford EcoBoost four cylinder are released.