If you felt a disturbance in the Ford versus Chevy force, you can thank our friends over at Horsepower Wars. A new season, LS vs. Coyote 3 presented by Summit, is about to launch, and they dropped the rules for an epic Blue Oval versus Bowtie battle where a Coyote 5.0-liter engine squares off against a GM Gen V L83 5.3-liter. Both will run the same 76mm HPT turbocharger, a Holley EFI system, and E85 fuel.

We are ride-or-die with Team Coyote, but upon looking at the rules, we are confident that the high-revving 5.0-liter will finally notch a well-deserved win against its larger-displacement foe.

If you listen to the Bowtie fanboys, you’d think horsepower was all about cubic inches, pushrods, and old-school architecture. Bragging that there “Ain’t no replacement” or espousing the virtues of unruly cam-grind gains will only get you so far.

Ford’s 5.0-liter Coyote engine might be smaller in displacement and wider in stature, but its innate attributes make it born to do more with less when boost is applied. Even in stock form, these engines are ready to make four digits with boost and the proper supporting upgrades. When you turn to one of the premier builders of the platform — Fast Forward Racing Engines — for something more, the results are sure to be special.

Formidable Opponent

In the fourth season of Horsepower Wars, it’s not the price tag or the size of your short-block that counts. What matters is how much power the combination creates. If we were talking horsepower per dollar, the competition would already be over, but the rules are limited, and some custom skulduggery is allowed.

Sure, Fast Forward Racing Engines could go crazy on this build, but it’s likely the shop will create the same proven engine it sells every day, because they simply work. Combining proven factory components and rugged internals that are ready to inhale a steady diet of turbocharged boost is a path FFRE knows well.

Admittedly, the 5.3-liter LT engine is an impressive performer in naturally aspirated form, but under 30-plus psi of boost from a 76mm turbo, it’s a different story. Its more fragile factory internals, pushrod valvetrain, and the rule stipulation that said valvetrain must remain hydraulic present some challenges. The builder, Late Model Engines, is an expert at creating potent pushrod powerplants, like our beloved Bosszilla project, but they are on the other team this time around.

The Coyote engine, on the other hand, is a beast of engineering. Designed from the factory to handle high-performance environments, its deep-skirt block design, cross-bolted mains, and premium aluminum alloy make it rock-solid even with a stock crankshaft in place.

Competitive Edge

FFRE’s magic is in the ability to fortify this platform with scalpel-like precision using refined stock parts, high-quality aftermarket upgrades, and intelligent machine work to extract serious power without turning it into a custom-built racing engine beyond the reach of most enthusiasts.

That means on dyno day, the Coyote will make clean, consistent pulls with every run looking as sharp as the last. The LT might throw up a flashy number once in a while, but the FFRE 5.0-liter will be ready to rumble run after run, like many of its record-setting customer engines do at the racetrack.

And here’s the kicker: This toughness means the Coyote build is far more streetable. While LT is likely to rely on expensive racing bits that make the engine all about the peak output, the Coyote can survive real-world street driving and drag strip blasts — exactly what the HPW season-four rules spell out.

On dyno day, the turbocharged FFRE Coyote will stand tall while the LT and its hardcore parts leave the Bowtie boys crying on those expensive receipts.