There is no replacement for displacement, or so the old mantra goes. Yet these days, major automakers are increasingly seeking out ways to make more horsepower from smaller engines. This is a combination of government mandates, rising gas prices, and motorsports regulations that has launched a new wave of engine innovation that means more power from smaller motors.
While some people may cry foul and condemn this downsizing of engines, worry not; Ford engineers are still capable of making some incredible power numbers from very small engines. In fact, Ford just put a new road-legal Formula car through the paces with a 1.0 liter EcoBoost engine, and they managed to run the 11th-fastest time around the Nurburgring’s famed North Loop for a street legal car.
Of course “street legal” is in the eyes of the beholder. The uber-tuned 1.0 liter EcoBoost engine cranked out an impressive 202 horsepower, and it sits in a very light body that allows this semi-race car to reach speeds 158 mph. Around the Nurburgring’s North Loop, the 1.0 liter EcoBoost Formula car reached an average speed of 105 mph. It managed to complete the nearly-13 mile lap in 7 minutes and 22 seconds.
That is faster than many European exotic supercars, including the Lamborghini Aventador and Ferrari Enzo. Add to that a killer fuel economy rating of 118 mpg (at 35 mph), and all of the sudden this tiny three-cylinder Ford engine doesn’t seem so ridiculous, does it? Fuel economy, horsepower, you can have it all these days. Now we just have to convince Ford to build a kit car version so we can all enjoy this ridiculous combination of power and efficiency.