While other automakers have gone all-in with electric cars or hybrid vehicle technology, Ford has committed itself to perfecting the efficiency and performance of internal combustion engines. The Ford EcoBoost line of engines relies on direct injection, turbochargers, and millions of lines of computer code to deliver both power and fuel economy. But this engine didn’t just build itself.

Rather it relied on a team of engineers from various backgrounds, including Soviet laser defense programs, space shuttle safety research, and work in particle physics.

Each of these engineers brought something unique to the EcoBoost engine design, which holds over 20 unique patents that help optimize power and efficiency. Mike Kluzner, who was born in the Soviet Union and worked on laser weapon systems for the former communist regime, has worked for Ford since 1996. The discipline he learned behind the iron-curtain has helped his work at Ford. “During my work for the military, I was trained very early on how to establish and maintain consistent product performance,” said Kluzner. “This became part of my engineering DNA.”

Ford’s engineers needed to draw on all their unique experiences to design workarounds for the software that controlled the EcoBoost engines. “No doubt, turbocharging, direct injection and cam timing hardware are key ingredients of Ford’s EcoBoost recipe, but the secret sauce is the software,” said David Bell, Ford global boost system controls engineer. This combination of software magic and hardware improvements has led to enormous popularity of the EcoBoost engine line, and thus a surge in demand for Ford’s EcoBoost engines.

The Blue Oval has tripled production capacity for EcoBoost engines, and sales of EcoBoost-powered Fords are nearing 70,000 units per month worldwide. No doubt Ford has a hit on their hands, and with gasoline-powered cars remaining the favored form of transportation, this secret engine recipe is certainly paying off. Rumor has it the next Mustang will offer optional EcoBoost power, and we can’t wait to sample that and see what these talented engineers can do with an engine intended for America’s favorite Pony car.