Ford to Tear Down EcoBoost V-6 "Torture Test" Engine at Detroit Auto Show

Want a chance to see the very same EcoBoost V-6 engine that Ford engineers have torture tested over the past several months? You can — in pieces — if you attend the first public day of the 2011 North American International Auto Show in Detroit at 11 a.m. on Jan. 15.

Ford engineers will disassemble and examine the twin-turbo direct-injection six-cylinder gas engine for long-term durability performance in the Ford powertrain display at Cobo Hall.

The 365-horsepower, 420 pounds-feet of torque EcoBoost V-6 is one of three all-new engines available for the 2011 Ford F-150. It racked up the equivalent of more than 160,000 miles and 10 years of rugged use after it was “shock” tested on a dyno, dragged thousands of pounds of logs up steep grades, towed a pair of Ford Fusion racecars at full throttle around a 1.5-mile oval NASCAR track for 24 hours and raced in the 1,061-mile Baja 1000.

Why do all that? Ford wants to prove to full-size truck buyers that a six-cylinder turbo can perform with the same reliability, durability and performance as a V-8, but with up to 20 percent expected better fuel economy.

"Customers will be able to see for themselves how the components fared during a regime of tests that, when taken together, are far more extreme than even the harshest-use customer could dish out," said Jim Mazuchowski, V-6 engines programs manager. "This EcoBoost truck engine received no special treatment, and now we’re going to see how it did."

If you go, take a camera. We want to see pictures!

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