Ford has a mystery monster motor in the works.
The automaker currently offers a 7.3-liter V8 known as "Godzilla" in the F-Series Super Duty and E-Series truck lines and also sells it as a standalone crate engine for custom and racing car builders, but it looks like a sequel will be premiering soon.
Ford Performance Product Manager Mike Goodwin told the Performance Racing Industry news outlet in 2020 that his team was working on a "super-secret project" it calls the "Megazilla" that will be more powerful than the 430 horsepower Godzilla, but not much has been heard of it since.
That was until Ford filed for a trademark on the Megazilla name on September 16.
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The application says the name is intended for use with "crate motors, namely, electric motors and internal combustion engines for automobiles; and powertrains for automobiles."
That leaves the door open to a variety of possibilities and no official announcement has been made, nor is it clear when one will.
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Ford is not taking part in this year's Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show in Las Vegas, which is focused on parts and accessories and the usual venue for this sort of performance product to be revealed.
Tuners have already built Godzilla engines with over 700 horsepower without reverting to the use of turbochargers or superchargers, and more than 1,000 hp with them, so there is a lot of potential in the V8, which currently lists for $9,175 in the Ford Performance catalog.
The mention of electric motors in the trademark application is particularly interesting as Ford currently sells an Eluminator electric crate motor, which is rated at 281 hp and 371 lb-ft of torque and was swapped into a 1978 Ford F-100 Custom built for last year's SEMA Show.