When Ford Motor Company pulled out of SEMA in 2022, there was legitimate fear that the brand would not have a presence at the PRI show either. These fears were relieved when the crew at Ford Performance presented a booth number to attendees. Rumors began to swirl that a new crate engine was going to be on display as part of their participation. Naturally, my mind rushed in a million directions as I’ve heard gossip of a few new engines to be released. However, I had a slight idea that it might be the storied Megazilla finally erupting from the shadows of its predecessor and decided to invite Godzilla along for the ride. Little did I know the connection he would have with one of the engines.
As we began our booth tour it was apparent that the team at Ford Performance had engineered their booth to replicate its e-commerce site. It provided a hot-rod heaven for those looking for performance engine swaps, innovative new products for existing engines, and of course, a peg board of amazing parts to help you along your build. The 5.2-liter Predator and Aluminator XS engines were on display with the Aluminator sporting the all-new Gen-2 Cobra Jet intake. Even the classic small-block Ford received some love with a set of two-piece valve covers. However, as you can imagine when walking around with Godzilla, we were here for a specific engine and couldn’t be more excited when we put our eyes on it.
The Megazilla had been hinted at by accident over two years ago, but only recently has caught traction with Ford trademarking the name. Now the Megazilla sat in front of us with an actual build sheet, horsepower figures, and more. Everything we had desired to do with the Godzilla engine, sans-adding boost, was included in the crate engine. Pistons, rods, CNC-machined heads, forward-facing intake, and a control pack. Although Godzilla tried to expedite the release date into our hands during the show, the crew at Ford Performance had made sure the engine wasn’t moving away from its location. Unfortunately for Godzilla and the rest wanting a 7.3-liter torque monster with huge power potential, we’ll have to wait until the engine appears on the website.