The Ford F-150 moved away from V8s as its top-shelf engine a long time ago, the twin-turbo EcoBoost V6 is its high-output offering these days. But the eight-cylinder engine has remained on the options list, and now it’s getting some new life breathed into it: Ford’s introducing a factory Whipple supercharger kit for the 5.0-liter V8-equipped 2021 Ford F-150, and it sounds like near-Raptor R power output is only a cool ten bills away.
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What Happened
Brett Foote over at Ford Authority recently reported that Ford Performance was showing off a supercharger kit at the SEMA show that helps the 5.0-liter V8 under the hood of the 2021 F-150 produce an impressive 700 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque on premium fuel.
As a factory option, it comes with a three-year/36,000-mile warranty when installed by a Ford dealer, and is 50-state/CARB legal. That’s right, fellow Californians: no risk of getting ref’d and being forced to return your Ford Country-approved rig back to stock after sinking nearly ten-large into its glorious, rev-happy heart. At least that’s the projected cost -Ford hasn’t officially announced pricing yet, but Ford Authority mentions that the same kit for the 2020 model year F-150 retails at $7,500, and apparently usually costs $2,000-$3,000 for the dealer to install.
Why It Matters
Based on Ford Authority‘s included dyno chart, the power curve looks ferocious. At 1,500 rpm, the stock 5.0 appears to produce around 90 horsepower, whereas the supercharger-equipped 5.0 makes around 110. And then the deficit between the two only gets larger from there. Then, when the stock 5.0’s curve starts to level out at around 4,500 rpm, it keeps progressively climbing from there with the supercharger whining away, all the way to redline. FA expects the latter to clock in a 0-60 MPH time of less than five seconds, too. Not bad, not bad at all.
This is a solid sign that the Blue Oval is well aware of, and happy to offer factory-backed modifications for, power-hungry enthusiasts. Even during these times of tightening emissions standards and EV options being introduced what seems like weekly.
It’s also cool that Ford doesn’t expect everyone who wants more power to save up and spend more money on the F-150 Raptor or Raptor R. After a little bit of fiddling on Ford’s site, I found out that the 5.0-liter can be optioned onto a base, stripper XL trim that brings the cost to as little as $32,980 after destination charges. The turbo-3.5-liter-equipped Raptor by comparison starts at a much higher $65,840 after destination charges. One could theoretically put together a fully warrantied sleeper/screamer for far less than $50,000. Well, you’d probably want to upgrade your brakes and tires, too.
What To Look For Next
First and foremost: whoopsie footage on YouTube. Just kidding… kind of. But really, it’s great that one can have such a monster from the factory floor for not a whole lot of scratch in the grand scheme of things. Plus, the 5.0-liter Coyote is a truly magnificent engine, and ought to be enjoyed to the fullest. Adding a big ol’ supercharger is an excellent way to do so.
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