Ford has announced a new version of its spec racer that pushes the bounds of what small-displacement, turbocharged engines can do. Formula Ford, as the name suggests, is a single-seat, open wheel race car powered by a (you guessed it) Ford powerplant. As the cars are made of lightweight materials, the usual Formula Ford engine is a 1.6-liter mill, but this particular racer has been fitted with the 2012 International Engine of the Year, the 1.0-liter EcoBoost inline-three.
This particular Formula Ford has also been converted to road use and has been testing on Germany's famed Nürburgring. There, it recorded the 11th-fastest lap ever at the 'Ring. At 7 minutes, 22 seconds, it was faster around the famed German track than the Ferrari Enzo, Lamborghini Aventador and Pagani Zonda.
This particular 1.0-liter engine has been tuned to put out 202 horsepower, making this feat of beating the aforementioned supercars around the 'Ring even more impressive. The Formula Ford EcoBoost also has an unofficial top speed of 158.8 miles per hour, can get from zero to 60 mph in less then four seconds and can achieve 118 miles per gallon... at 35 mph.
Check out the press release and video below to learn more about this exciting vehicle and the other Ford models in which this powerplant may soon find itself.
This particular Formula Ford has also been converted to road use and has been testing on Germany's famed Nürburgring. There, it recorded the 11th-fastest lap ever at the 'Ring. At 7 minutes, 22 seconds, it was faster around the famed German track than the Ferrari Enzo, Lamborghini Aventador and Pagani Zonda.
This particular 1.0-liter engine has been tuned to put out 202 horsepower, making this feat of beating the aforementioned supercars around the 'Ring even more impressive. The Formula Ford EcoBoost also has an unofficial top speed of 158.8 miles per hour, can get from zero to 60 mph in less then four seconds and can achieve 118 miles per gallon... at 35 mph.
Check out the press release and video below to learn more about this exciting vehicle and the other Ford models in which this powerplant may soon find itself.
Ford's 1.0-litre EcoBoost Powered Race Car Leaves Supercars in its Wake at Famed Nürburgring Circuit
A unique Formula Ford race car powered by Ford's tiny 1.0-litre EcoBoost petrol engine produces a supercar-beating performance at the legendary Nürburgring track in Germany
Unique road-legal racer records the 11th fastest lap ever at the Nürburgring's famed Nordschleife circuit - 7 minutes, 22 seconds – higher on the list than such 600+ horsepower supercars as the Lamborghini Aventador, Ferrari Enzo and the Pagani Zonda
1.0-litre EcoBoost-powered Formula Ford boasts an unofficial top speed of 255.5 km/h (158.8 mph) and a 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) time of less than four seconds
Fuel economy is equally eye-popping: unofficially 2.4 l/100 km (118 mpg) at 56 km/h (35 mph), and 5 l/100 km (57 mpg) at 120 km/h (75 mph)
The three-cylinder Ford 1.0-litre EcoBoost was recently named 2012 "International Engine of the Year". The turbocharged, direction injection petrol engine is now available in the Ford Focus and coming soon in the B-MAX, new Fiesta and C-MAX
COLOGNE, Germany, Sept. 4, 2012 – Ford's tiny but feisty 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine is the reason why a unique road-going Formula Ford race car has scored one of the fastest lap times ever at Germany's famed Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit.
The one-of a-kind, road-legal version of the latest Formula Ford single-seat racer completed the lap in 7 minutes, 22 seconds to register the 11th fastest time ever on the circuit – a performance that puts it ahead of a host of supercars including the 600+ horsepower Lamborghini Aventador, Ferrari Enzo and Pagani Zonda.
"This little engine has people rubbing their eyes in disbelief," said racing driver and course specialist Nick Tandy, 28, who completed the drive. "It's simply astonishing that a 3-cylinder, one-litre engine can deliver that kind of performance."
Ford engineers have led several months of work on the project to switch the Formula Ford's usual 180 PS,1.6-litre EcoBoost power unit with a specially tuned 205 PS version of the company's new global 1.0-litre EcoBoost petrol engine, which was recently named "International Engine of the Year".
The project team also modified the vehicle so it would be fully street legal for on-road use by fitting it with wheel covers, front and rear lights and indicators, aerodynamically designed wing mirrors and a horn. The car is fitted with a 6-speed manual gearbox and was driven on road-legal tyres.
The car's unofficial top speed is expected to be 255.5 km/h (158.8 mph) with a 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) time of less than four seconds. The vehicle completed the 20.832 km (12.94 mile) Nordschleife circuit at an average speed of 169 km/h (105 mph).
The 1.0-litre EcoBoost powered Formula Ford car beat previously recorded fastest times of many supercars including the 700 horsepower Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4, the 660 horsepower Ferrari Enzo and the 602 horsepower Pagani Zonda. No other three- or even four-cylinder car has posted a faster time at the legendary circuit.
"We wanted to prove that size doesn't matter by showing everyone what an amazingly capable engine we have developed in the 1.0-litre EcoBoost," said Roelant de Waard, vice president of Marketing and Sales, Ford of Europe. "What better way than by beating some of the best supercars in the world on the Nordschleife, while using a fraction of the fuel."
In-house testing also showed the 1.0-litre EcoBoost-powered Formula Ford is capable of extremely frugal fuel economy, delivering 2.4 l/100 km (118 mpg) at 56 km/h (35 mph), and 5 l/100 km (57 mpg) at 120 km/h (75 mph).
While the 1.0-litre EcoBoost-powered Formula Ford car isn't available to buy, the Ford Focus equipped with this engine is already proving a success with customers around Europe. About 30 percent of new Focus buyers in recent months have opted for the 1.0-litre EcoBoost.
In the Focus, the 100 PS version 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine delivers 4.8 l/100 km (58.9 mpg), and the 125 PS model achieves 5 l/100 km (56.5 mpg).* The engine also will be available in the all-new Ford B-MAX, and C-MAX as well as the redesigned new Ford Fiesta coming later in 2012.
Earlier this year, a Ford Focus equipped with the 125 PS 1.0-litre EcoBoost set 16 Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) speed world records at the CERAM test circuit in France.**
A unique Formula Ford race car powered by Ford's tiny 1.0-litre EcoBoost petrol engine produces a supercar-beating performance at the legendary Nürburgring track in Germany
Unique road-legal racer records the 11th fastest lap ever at the Nürburgring's famed Nordschleife circuit - 7 minutes, 22 seconds – higher on the list than such 600+ horsepower supercars as the Lamborghini Aventador, Ferrari Enzo and the Pagani Zonda
1.0-litre EcoBoost-powered Formula Ford boasts an unofficial top speed of 255.5 km/h (158.8 mph) and a 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) time of less than four seconds
Fuel economy is equally eye-popping: unofficially 2.4 l/100 km (118 mpg) at 56 km/h (35 mph), and 5 l/100 km (57 mpg) at 120 km/h (75 mph)
The three-cylinder Ford 1.0-litre EcoBoost was recently named 2012 "International Engine of the Year". The turbocharged, direction injection petrol engine is now available in the Ford Focus and coming soon in the B-MAX, new Fiesta and C-MAX
COLOGNE, Germany, Sept. 4, 2012 – Ford's tiny but feisty 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine is the reason why a unique road-going Formula Ford race car has scored one of the fastest lap times ever at Germany's famed Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit.
The one-of a-kind, road-legal version of the latest Formula Ford single-seat racer completed the lap in 7 minutes, 22 seconds to register the 11th fastest time ever on the circuit – a performance that puts it ahead of a host of supercars including the 600+ horsepower Lamborghini Aventador, Ferrari Enzo and Pagani Zonda.
"This little engine has people rubbing their eyes in disbelief," said racing driver and course specialist Nick Tandy, 28, who completed the drive. "It's simply astonishing that a 3-cylinder, one-litre engine can deliver that kind of performance."
Ford engineers have led several months of work on the project to switch the Formula Ford's usual 180 PS,1.6-litre EcoBoost power unit with a specially tuned 205 PS version of the company's new global 1.0-litre EcoBoost petrol engine, which was recently named "International Engine of the Year".
The project team also modified the vehicle so it would be fully street legal for on-road use by fitting it with wheel covers, front and rear lights and indicators, aerodynamically designed wing mirrors and a horn. The car is fitted with a 6-speed manual gearbox and was driven on road-legal tyres.
The car's unofficial top speed is expected to be 255.5 km/h (158.8 mph) with a 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) time of less than four seconds. The vehicle completed the 20.832 km (12.94 mile) Nordschleife circuit at an average speed of 169 km/h (105 mph).
The 1.0-litre EcoBoost powered Formula Ford car beat previously recorded fastest times of many supercars including the 700 horsepower Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4, the 660 horsepower Ferrari Enzo and the 602 horsepower Pagani Zonda. No other three- or even four-cylinder car has posted a faster time at the legendary circuit.
"We wanted to prove that size doesn't matter by showing everyone what an amazingly capable engine we have developed in the 1.0-litre EcoBoost," said Roelant de Waard, vice president of Marketing and Sales, Ford of Europe. "What better way than by beating some of the best supercars in the world on the Nordschleife, while using a fraction of the fuel."
In-house testing also showed the 1.0-litre EcoBoost-powered Formula Ford is capable of extremely frugal fuel economy, delivering 2.4 l/100 km (118 mpg) at 56 km/h (35 mph), and 5 l/100 km (57 mpg) at 120 km/h (75 mph).
While the 1.0-litre EcoBoost-powered Formula Ford car isn't available to buy, the Ford Focus equipped with this engine is already proving a success with customers around Europe. About 30 percent of new Focus buyers in recent months have opted for the 1.0-litre EcoBoost.
In the Focus, the 100 PS version 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine delivers 4.8 l/100 km (58.9 mpg), and the 125 PS model achieves 5 l/100 km (56.5 mpg).* The engine also will be available in the all-new Ford B-MAX, and C-MAX as well as the redesigned new Ford Fiesta coming later in 2012.
Earlier this year, a Ford Focus equipped with the 125 PS 1.0-litre EcoBoost set 16 Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) speed world records at the CERAM test circuit in France.**
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