Fascinating 427
It's obvious that the same numbers mean different things to different car guys. Say "427" to a Chevy guy and his thoughts turn to Rat-powered Corvettes or the awesome Camaro ZL1. Say it to a Ford guy and thoughts turn to the titanic powerhouse motor from the mid-'60s that powered Carroll Shelby's awesome Cobra and the brick-like '65 Galaxie to NASCAR glory. The 427 concept vehicle shown by Ford at this year's Detroit auto show was intended to evoke memories of that Galaxie, and it does so surprisingly well.
The bent bars crossing the car's nose framed by large vertical headlamps and the general blockiness of the body are reminiscent of the square-cut '65 Galaxie, though the '65 was never this muscular looking. Ford calls the look "almost sinister," but that's wrong. It's just clean and upright, and hopefully it will inspire some better looking Ford sedans in the future.
Power for the 427 does, in fact, come from a 427ci powerplant (that's 7.0L in euro-speak). In this case, it's a version of Ford's Triton V-10 with siamesed 95-millimeter bores and four-valve cylinder heads. Ford claims a paranormal 590 hp for this engine that, despite the extra cylinders, weighs in about 70 pounds less than the 5.4L, 32-valve V-8 used in the '01 Mustang Cobra-R. What are the chances of the 427 V-10 becoming a regular production item? Absolutely subterranean.
Ford Gambles On a New F-150
Ford sells about 800,000 new F-Series pickups every year. It's the best-selling vehicle on Earth. It's the source of much of Ford's profits. When they redesign it, they risk everything.
Ford is rolling the dice big-time with the all-new '04 F-150 due to go on sale later this year. However, the old F-150 (introduced as a '97 model) will stay in production at the base trim levels to keep prices down.
There's nothing really startling about the new F-150, but its obviously been refined to the Nth degree. That's one better than the Mth degree.
The most radical element in the new F-150 sure isn't the square-cut exterior styling, but it may well be the interior. Or make that interiors. The F-150 will be available with different interiors Ford describes as "custom environments ... developed for each series." So the FX4 interior (shown) is completely different than that of the Lariat or XLT. And the interiors are larger with regular and extended SuperCab models both stretching another 6 inches in length. The SuperCrew crew-cab model is also back with seating for up to six. The three cabs are available with three different-length boxes with either "Styleside" or "Flareside" fenders.
The fully boxed frame is stiffer, and the front suspension now mounts the coil spring around the shock and incorporates aluminum lower control arms. The solid rear axle still rides on leaf springs. Steering is by rack-and-pinion, braking is by four-wheel discs, and ABS is standard.
While the 4.6L, SOHC Triton V-8 carries over unchanged except for an electronic throttle, the 5.4L version now sports three-valve heads that push output to 300 hp. It also gets the electronic throttle.
The new F-150 will go on sale this fall.
Taste O' Trivia
The front fenders on the '70 Plymouth Superbird were actually from a '70 Dodge Coronet, not a regular Plymouth Road Runner.
Before it built an automotive Hemi V-8, Chrysler first used hemispherical combustion chambers on this XI-2220 experimental aircraft engine developed during World War II. [Photo 2A]
Comedian Sam Kinison was driving a limited-edition '89 Pontiac Trans Am Turbo when he was struck and killed by a drunk driver in April 1992.
On April 6, 2003, the Hostess Twinkie turned 73 years old. And it's still fresh!
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