2011 Ford F-150 EcoBoost Desert Racer

Ford announced today that the 2011 F-150 EcoBoost will enter the prestigious long-distance desert endurance race, the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000. What is really interesting is that the car will be powered by a stock version of the new 3.5-liter EcoBoost truck engine, which will make its debut in the 2011 Ford F-150 next year. The engine delivers 365 hp and 420 lb.-ft. of torque (up to 90 percent is available from 1,700 rpm to 5,000 rpm).

Furthermore, the car will be fueled with regular pump gasoline, which means that this race will act as an endurance race for the engine. The race will be perfect to test the engine, because in those conditions, the temperature will swing from just above freezing to well above 100 degrees.

“The engine going into our race truck for the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 is the same engine going into the 2011 Ford F-150 that customers can purchase starting next year,” said Eric Kuehn, chief engineer of the 2011 F-150. “No special blocks or structural upgrades. We are fully confident that because of the strict testing the 3.5-liter EcoBoost truck engines underwent before we started manufacturing, it will take anything the desert can dish out.”