Ford Performance will offer the GT500’s Predator V-8 as a crate engine

Ford’s most powerful production engine is headed to Ford Performance retailers soon. The Blue Oval is readying a crate version of the supercharged Predator V-8, according to Ford Authority. Ford Performance Product Manager Mike Goodwin spoke about the engine during a SEMA360 interview.

For those unfamiliar with the 5.2-liter V-8 used in the GT500, it has all the best parts ever developed for the Ford Modular V-8 family. Its free-breathing four-valve heads are similar to those on the naturally-aspirated 5.2-liter Voodoo, and it also shares the biggest bores ever fitted to Modular architecture—3.7 inches. The Predator has been beefed up to handle an impressive power output with a strong rotating assembly and a structural oil pan.

Unlike the Voodoo engine, however, Ford’s top performer comes with a cross-plane crank and a proper V-8 firing order. Of course, there’s also the matter of having a 2.65-liter Roots-style supercharger mounted in the engine valley. Installed in the Mustang GT500, the Predator is good for 760 hp and 625 lb-ft of torque, making it the most powerful production engine Ford has ever built. Final output of the crate version should be in the same ballpark.

Ford isn’t alone in offering high-power crate engines for racers and hot-rodders. In addition to numerous mild-mannered small-blocks, Chevrolet Performance offers a 755-hp, supercharged LT5 and a 727-hp, naturally aspirated big-block while Mopar has three flavors of supercharged Hemi from 707-1000 hp. Even in the crate engine market, the horsepower war is alive and well.