Mustang GT Coupe

Make
Ford
Segment
Coupe

When it comes to building engines with lower emissions, better economy, more power, and less vibration and harshness, Ford realized the small-block V8 was as good as it was going to get. That meant the Mustang needed a new engine.

For the new 5.0-liter V8, engineers took the best parts of Ford's modular overhead-cam engine line for a new lump. They developed a strong aluminum block, high-flow aluminum heads, variable timing, a composite intake, tuned exhaust headers, an 11:1 compression ratio, and a new firing order for the cylinders. The result was good, but the magic ingredient was a trick timing system called Ti-VCT (Twin Independent Variable Camshaft Timing). We're throwing a lot of technical words at you, but the essential result is more torque in the midrange, excellent high-rpm power, and better fuel economy with less emissions. A win-win-win-win, if you like.

The Coyote engine went into the 2011 model year Mustang, making 412 hp and 390 ft-lb of torque. The 4.6-liter V8 that preceded the 5.0 made only 300 hp. It was a night and day difference and set the Coyote engine up to be the best V8 platform for Ford since the 427 big block of the 1960s. For reasons of clarity, this list focuses on Coyote engines but not variants that have been given new names, like the supercharged 5.2-liter Predator or the naturally-aspirated 5.2-liter voodoo engine.

1. Mustang GT

In the Ford Mustang GT, the Coyote V8 has gone from strength to strength. The current sixth-generation GT model makes 460 hp and 420 lb-ft through either a six-speed manual or ten-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters. With Ford's reintroduction of the Mach 1 name, power has climbed from 412 hp and 390 lb-ft to 480 hp and 420 lb-ft of torque. However, we have now seen the new seventh-generation Mustang GT, which will arrive in the summer of 2023 with as much as 500 hp in Dark Horse guise, and we can only imagine there's more to come from future models like the Bullitt and Mach 1 of the S650 generation.

2. Ford F-150

In 2011, the Ford F-150 also benefitted from the then-new Coyote engine. As it was for a truck, the F-150 got a torque-biased variant. The major differences are a lower compression ratio (10.5:1), revised intake camshafts, cast iron exhaust manifolds, and revised cylinder heads for improved cooling and an external engine oil cooler.

The engine debuted with 360 hp and 380 lb-ft of torque, but that jumped with a change in the induction system to pull air in from over the grille but under the hood rather than through an intake inlet in the fender. With the Ram Air Effect system, power went to 385 hp and 387 hp. In 2022, it makes 400 horsepower and 410 lb-ft of torque and gives the F-150 with the Coyote engine the power to tow up to 13,000 pounds.

3. Ford Falcon (Australia)

When Ford phased out the 5.4-liter V8 Boss engines powering the seventh-generation Falcon XR8 sedan due to emissions, the Australian Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV) division had a problem. The answer was the same as for the American Ford Mustang, but FPV needed the engine to produce as much power as the outgoing lumps. FPV and Melbourne-based Prodrive added a supercharger to give the Coyote 449 hp with 420 lb-ft of torque. Unfortunately, the Falcon went out of production as Ford closed Australian manufacturing, ending the car's production run at 56 years.

4. Icon Bronco

If you want a restomod classic Bronco or FJ Cruiser and have around a quarter of a million dollars to spend, you go to the LA-based company Icon. It's run by the industrial designer and meticulous engineer Jonathan Ward, and each hand-built model represents that. You can drive an Icon Bronco BR every day, off-road the hell out of it, and it's safer and more reliable than the original.

Powering the Icon Bronco BR is a 460-hp Coyote V8 paired with either a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission. For the record, Ford doesn't even put a Coyote V8 in the Bronco production model, saving that only for the Bronco R racer.

5. Ringbrothers Mercury Cougar

If reimagining a classic rather than restomodding is more up your street, Ringbrothers is the biggest name in the game. The company goes to work and more obvious muscle cars, but we love its take on the less-obvious Mercury Cougar. It uses the 5.0-liter Coyote V8, but for a more laidback ride, Ringbrothers paired it to the 10-speed automatic transmission out of a Ford F-150 Raptor. As a result, the F-150's shifter is the only modern-looking piece in the interior. The sound is anything but chilled out, though, as the Coyote V8's emissions are routed out through a Flowmaster exhaust system.

6. TVR Griffith

The British sports car maker is making a comeback, and hopefully, this one will stick. the problem is, it's been five years, almost to the day, since we saw the first new TVR Griffith, and the car hasn't hit the road yet.

Not to focus on the negative for too long, however. TVR has typically powered its finest and craziest cars with straight-six engines, but this return of the Griffith name will be different. A Cosworth-tuned version of Ford's Coyote V8 powers the car that is supposed to be built using innovative technology from Gordon Murray. Given Cosworth's history of tuning Ford engines, and the last report was that it had shown 500 hp, the TVR's lump should be one for the history books... if it actually ever arrives.