Ford has finally revealed the power output figures for the new Megazilla crate engine, which made its debut at the Performance Racing Industry show two years ago. At the time, Ford only revealed the Megazilla name and said that it would be based on the 7.3-liter naturally aspirated Godzilla V8 engine that debuted in the F-Series Super Duty.
With a name like Megazilla, it's quite clear Ford had the Dodge Hellephant crate engine in its crosshairs. Unfortunately for Ford, Dodge recently upgraded the Hellephant when it introduced its new range of six-cylinder HurriCrate engines.
As standard, Megazilla produces 615 horsepower and 640 lb-ft of torque. The latter torque figure arrives at 3,800 rpm, but 500 lb-ft is already available from just 2,500 rpm and continues to be available all the way to 6,000 rpm.
That's an impressive power bump from the standard 7.3-liter engine, which produces 430 hp and 475 lb-ft of torque. The only production cars available with that engine are the new F-Series Super Duty trucks, although the 2023 models run a slightly updated version that pushes the torque figure up to 483 lb-ft. The unit in the Super Duty is obviously tuned for hauling and towing, not straight-line speed, but that is not necessarily the case for the Megazilla, with Mike from Ford Performance revealing in the above video that the engine is ideal for both cars and trucks. Basically, Ford wants you to swap the Megazilla into something cool and has tried to keep the size and weight down to help you achieve that in a street car.
The Godzilla easily slots into the engine bay of the F-150 and Mustang, though we suspect it will mainly be used for no-cost restomod builds.
The Megazilla comes with a cast-iron block, forged steel crankshaft, Callies forged H-beam connecting rods, Mahle forged pistons, CNC-ported and polished cylinder heads, a low-profile intake manifold, and the 92-millimeter throttle body from the Mustang Shelby GT500, which alone adds roughly 10 hp and 15 lb-ft of torque to a stock 7.3-liter motor. There's also been the deletion of the variable camshaft timing system, as emissions and low-speed drivability are not concerns with engine swaps.
Ford's standard specification leads us to believe that the engine was built with supercharging in mind. Mike also notes that the team built the new engine with boost in mind. We know the Godzilla is easy enough to supercharge, and power outputs can be pushed well beyond 1,500 hp, but it is certainly initially designed to simply run on pump gas, with the same 10.5:1 compression ratio as the Godzilla.
The Godzilla retails for $9,175 and weighs 580 pounds. Ford's Megazilla engine will only go on sale in the second quarter of 2023, obviously with a higher sticker price.
