ESP08

So mundane it’s shocking. So the mysterious 6.8 is just a shorter stroke 7.3 with port injection, cast crank, “bowl shaped pistons” (for port injection?) and no apparent cylinder deactivation…and they’re keeping the 7.3 as optional? Seems like a lot of overlap between the two.

I would bet a lot of money that Ford won't deviate from Godzilla's 4.53 inch bore spacing. Though if fuel economy and emissions are the driving force for the 6.8 I could see the reduced displacement coming from bore diameter. That will generally improve BSFC figures -- and combined with cylinder deactivation may offer some tangible fuel economy benefits.

Perhaps 6.8 is smaller bore with cylinder deactivation

Yes, but: 2023 F-650/750 SD Gas Pro Loader - $65,520 2023 F-650/750 SD Diesel Pro Loader - $75,005 Diesel will also have higher maintenance costs and diesel typically runs $1 or more per gallon than 87.

650/750 need all the low-end torque they can get. Sounds like Ford wants to give 250/350 something more fuel efficient than 7.3 to act as their base engine 6.2 replacement.

The reality is that over-square engines tend to make more high rpm power because they also tend to have more intake valve area relative to total displacement than an under-square engine does. This is especially true of in-line valve 2-valve/cylinder engines. The "mechanical advantage" provided by a longer stroke is so minuscule it's essentially irrelevant. Where the power/torque is made is almost entirely found in how well the top end (intake manifold runner length/cross section, intake port cross section/angle, intake valve area/angle/placement in the chamber, cam timing, etc.) can feed the total displacement underneath it. Larger ports and valves inherently tend to shift the power-band north, smaller valves and ports tend to bring on power earlier. Under-square multivalve engines tend to retain high-rpm capability (if desired) because they aren't intake valve area limited (or valve shrouded) relative to their total displacement by a smaller bore.

Agreed, the single biggest difference between the S650 and 6th Gen is that the S650 isn't ugly.

I was assuming they retain the iron block since it’s going into 250/350.

Zero similarity

I would say 99% of truck buyers don't actually know the difference between an OHV and OHC valve-train. And the counterpoint to that is Ford has more than held off GM & Ram sales for 23 years exclusively with OHC gasoline engines. I would argue Ford established even more dominance in the pickup market from 1997-2020 than they had through the 70s and 80s. GM AFM V8s have had low oil pressure/collapsed lifter concerns for a long time and Hemis have become notorious for the tick/failed lifter/cam (class action lawsuit is happening). I think the allure of pushrod simplicity for the typical consumer died 10 years ago. Loudmouth LS fanboys on car message boards are a tiny fraction of the pickup market, IMO.

Regarding F150, the (rumored) port-injected 6.8 won't do anything a 3.5 EB won't and there's always the Raptor HiPO 3.5 ready to go. The 6.8 will add nose weight and return much worse fuel economy in the EPA test loop even if "real world" towing mileage is somewhat comparable... that really doesn't matter for half-ton, IMO.

The differences from the last gen S550 are substantial. It’s evolutionary yes, but much like the 10-14 S197 hugely elevated the 05-09’s design (in the vast majority of the Mustang community’s opinion at least) this car has done the same for the 18-23 S550, IMO.

Dark Horse is ? Excepting the 2020+ GT500, I much prefer this to the S550s. By far

Being Godzilla based it was makes me doubt it will happen. Had it been a high-performance Boss-derived Predator replacement I could see it. A Godzilla based 6.8 doesn’t fit in the line up, it will get embarrassed by the HiPo 3.5 EcoBoost and will garner a ton of bad press if it goes into half-ton. It’ll be the “Ford Valdez” all over again

I'll withhold judgement until I see one in person. As of right now I think it's an improvement over 2018-2023...

I don't think a Godzilla-based 6.8 will ever see service in Mustang/F150.

It makes sense if the 6.8 was intended to be a dedicated high-performance engine or a 5.2 Predator replacement. Boss and Godzilla share bore spacing after all. With 6.8 reportedly showing up in Super Duty that's clearly not the case.

Yeah, that's a very tall tale courtesy of Brian Wolfe, IMO. The 6.2 Boss deck height is 9.41 inches, Godzilla is 9.65 inches. The 6.2 sits in the SD chassis with ease and an extra ~1/2" of total engine width wouldn't have prevented a 9.65-in deck version of the 6.2 (the 6.9 he mentioned) from going into the SD at all. I find it to be a nice, tidy story to keep people from asking why he didn't choose to continue 6.2 development but it's a pretty obvious fiction, IMHO.

I'll bet 6.8 is a replacement for both 6.2/7.3 in the F250/350 -- possibly GDI with output on par with the 7.3? 7.3 remains for medium duty and CNG?

I miss the S197's (specifically 2010-2014) more muscle car proportions...

I'm withholding judgement until I see them out on the road -- that's the only way to accurately judge a car design, IMO.

I know it for a fact. Go to virtually any Mustang forum, meet, FB group etc. and take a poll and you'll find it's more like 70%+ that prefer the older style headlights.

Well our disagreement in particular doesn't stem from subjective preferences now does it? You seem to be implying there isn't much actual difference between the headlights which is objectively just wrong.