Ford’s New Supercharged 7.3L Megazilla Crate Engine Makes 1,000+ HP and Isn’t Street Legal

Hot-rodders love the Ford 7.3-liter pushrod V8. It’s more compact than the 5.0-liter Coyote despite its bigger displacement, and it’s proven to be capable of making huge power without blowing up. While the aftermarket showed that first, Ford joined in by creating the Megazilla crate engine that produces 615 horsepower without forced induction. Engine builders have been fooling around with boost on the Godzilla platform for years, though, which finally led to this: a Whipple supercharged 7.3-liter crate engine making 1,000 hp.

Ford calls it Megazilla 2.0, which seems fitting given the parts it shares and the new ones it adds. Many of the same mods appear here, like forged pistons and connecting rods, ported and polished cylinder heads, and upgraded valve springs. The steel crankshaft also sticks around. The Gen 6 3.0-liter Whipple blower is where the “2.0” comes into play, transforming the engine into a powerhouse that’s for non-road use only. That’s right—no street rods running this bad boy unless they don’t care about the law.

Because the stock Super Duty engine has a cast iron block, it’s just fine with the added pressure. Upgraded internals seem to be the biggest key to making boost work, along with the higher-flowing heads. Ford didn’t release any torque figures, but the naturally aspirated Megazilla makes 638 lb-ft at 4,650 rpm. I imagine the blown Megazilla 2.0 will be way north of that.

Ford is also introducing another 5.0-liter Coyote crate engine with the same Whipple. The base is plucked straight out of the Mustang Dark Horse with a reprogrammed powertrain control module “and more” to make a targeted 800+ hp and 615 lb-ft of torque. Folks interested will be glad to learn that one is road-legal, and it’s offered with a two-year, 24,000-mile warranty if you so choose to add it.

There’s no pricing info for either engine yet, but just know you’ll be paying big bucks for both of them. The existing Megazilla is listed on Ford Performance’s site for $22,995, for what it’s worth. And while guys like Brian Wolfe at Willis Performance have shown you can make even more power with similar equipment and more aggressive tuning, it’s hard to argue with anyone who wants their drag engine built by the Blue Oval.

Got a tip or question for the author? Contact them directly: caleb@thedrive.com

The post Ford’s New Supercharged 7.3L Megazilla Crate Engine Makes 1,000+ HP and Isn’t Street Legal appeared first on The Drive.