7 Of The Most Powerful Ford Crate Engines, Ranked By Horsepower

Ford is no stranger to producing powerful engines. From the heyday of the muscle car to the racetrack to the Special Vehicles Team to today's Ford Performance division, the company has carved out a part of its legacy to create some hulking engines that will power some of the fastest race cars and the toughest trucks. For its performance vehicles, Ford is no stranger to crate engines. These are engines that come fully assembled when you purchase them and are ready to be dropped under the hood of the car of your choice. Ford Performance produces dozens of these engines, the vast majority of which are V8s, that you can purchase right now for your own truck or hot rod or custom build.

Because Ford produces so many, you may just want to get down to brass tacks and know exactly which of them are the most powerful. There are times where two engines have the same displacement volume, but the actual power they are able to generate is quite a bit different from each other. With this piece, we are going to run down seven of the most powerful crate engines you can get from Ford Performance. These ratings come down strictly to horsepower. Yes, many things affect the power and speed of your vehicle beyond the horsepower of your engine, but as a baseline, horsepower ratings are a great way to get a ballpark estimate of what you can expect to feel when you get behind the wheel of your car. It should be noted that all of these engines are meant for competition use and not for public roads.

There is one crate engine from Ford that stands hands and shoulders above the rest when it comes to pure power. This makes sense because it is an engine that was introduced for the 2024 model year. That would be the 5.2L Raptor R supercharged V8 crate engine. This was specifically designed to be under the hood of the 2024 F-150 Raptor R, and the result is a power machine that is barely rivaled by anything of its kind.

This latest version of the 5.2L V8 is rated at 760 horsepower and 625 pound-feet of torque. In actual practice, the F-150 Raptor R can get up to 720 horsepower and 640 pound-feet of torque, but when you take the engine itself on its own — free from the confines of a vehicle body — that 760 horsepower is where Ford reports it tops out at. That number places it over 100 horsepower more than the Ford crate engine that will come in at second place on this list.

The engine is able to achieve this kind of power with a lot of help from the Eaton TVS R2650 supercharger that it is equipped with, along with its 9.5:1 compression ratio. This 2024 edition also has all new original equipment (OE) components, including its alternator, air conditioning compressor, water pump, supercharger belt, and more. Ford Performance wanted to completely outdo itself with its latest V8 monster for the performance version of the company's most popular vehicle, and with this 5.2L crate engine, it definitely succeeded.

While 2024 brought what is the highest horsepower-rated crate engine from Ford Performance, you need to go back to 2016 to get the second highest-rated crate engine, and it is a significant step down from the Raptor R behemoth. That being said, it is still a powerhouse that needs to be reckoned with. This is an engine that is born out of Ford's 385 Big Block family of engines and takes what that line can be to the next level. This is the 572 Big Block Street V8 crate engine.

Somewhat surprisingly, this V8 does not come with a supercharger or a turbocharger, so the horsepower you are getting with this engine is just directly from the engine as it is built. When you consider that, the numbers it can generate are extremely impressive, as it has an output of 655 horsepower and 710 pound-feet of torque. What helps achieve this level of power without that additional aid is the sheer size of this crate engine, as its 572 cubic inches (or 9.4L) of displacement is rather massive. Adding a supercharger to that may just be a little too insane. Its 10:1 compression ratio is enough to get the power you require.

Even with its massive size, Ford recommends using this engine in vehicles like hot rods or purely custom builds, though your first instinct may be to use it for a truck. If what you are putting together can handle this size, you are looking at some truly impressive power for competition purposes.

Back in 2020, Ford introduced a new line of engines called Godzilla. This is obviously named after the famous kaiju from Japanese cinema that dates back to the 1950s. The line initially started with just one engine, a 7.3L V8 that was used in Super Duty pickup trucks. While a large size, it produced 430 horsepower and 475 pound-feet of torque, which isn't exactly the high level of horsepower and torque you would expect from an engine bearing the Godzilla name. Well, in 2022, Ford unveiled the next generation of the Godzilla line: the Megazilla. This was still a V8 with 7.3L of displacement, but the amount of power this was able to produce was significantly greater.

For the Megazilla, Ford Performance upgraded the engine with elements such as Mahle pistons, a low-profile Ford Performance intake manifold, the Shelby Mustang GT500's throttle body, and more to make the engine a lot stronger than the standard Godzilla. The result is an engine that can generate up to 612 horsepower and 670 pound-feet of torque. It is amazing that two engines that have the exact same displacement volume — as well as the same 10.5:1 compression ratio — but can be nearly 200 horsepower apart in peak performance.

This is another engine that is best utilized for hot rods and custom builds. However, Ford Performance does say that this is also a good option for an engine swap. Whatever reason you have to get yourself a Megazilla, you are going to get yourself some impressive power under the hood.

One of the most popular V8 engines that Ford makes today is the Coyote. This is a 5.0L V8 that goes back to 2010 and has been used in everything from the Ford Mustang GT to the F-150. Over the years, Ford has done some modified versions of this modular engine to enhance its performance, such as the Voodoo engine that utilizes a flat-plane crankshaft instead of the more traditional cross-plane, and one of those modified versions is the next engine on this list. This is an engine known as the Aluminator XS, which is a 5.2L V8 crate engine you can purchase from Ford Performance. The Aluminator gets its name from the heavy use of aluminum that is used to build its engine block and cylinder heads. Pairing its size and build with a 12:1 compression ratio, and you have yourself a naturally aspirated engine that doesn't require a supercharger or turbocharger for some impressive performance.

At the peak of its power, the Aluminator XS can generate 580 horsepower and 445 pound-feet of torque. Considering that the engines on this list that naturally are able to generate a lot of power have significantly larger displacement volumes than this, it is a pretty impressive output for something of its size. The aforementioned Voodoo engine is also a 5.2L V8, and it maxes out at 526 horsepower. Ford Performance introduced the Aluminator XS crate engine back in 2016, and thanks to its power, it is still going strong today for hot rods, track cars, and custom builds.

Starting back in 2010, Ford introduced a new line of V8 engines that would go on to have a life that would last a little over a decade. This would be known as the Boss family of engines. Production on these engines would end in 2022, as Ford was now more in favor of the Godzilla family of engines. However, despite these Boss engines no longer being produced, you can still buy them as crate engines from Ford Performance. Because they are no longer produced, they are also quite a bit less expensive than the crate engines that have already appeared on this list. If you want to get the maximum power out of a Boss engine, then you need to look no further than the 460 Boss V8 crate engine.

With 7.5L of displacement, this is the largest of the Boss crate engines that the company offers, and it is that added size that gets you the power. While operating at peak performance, the 460 Boss V8 can generate 575 horsepower and 575 pound-feet of torque. So, while does fall slightly behind the Aluminator XS in terms of pure horsepower, it greatly outperforms it when it comes to torque. If torque is more important for your hot rod or custom build than just horsepower, you may want to opt for the Boss crate engine instead. The engine comes in two different variations: either with a front sump pan or a rear sump pan. Whichever one you choose to get for your vehicle, the 460 Boss V8 crate engine would do wonders in a racing context.

There was a time when the Boss crate engines were truly at the top of the food chain when it came to horsepower. Yes, they have been surpassed with newer generations and models, but that family of V8s could pack some serious punch for cars ready for competition. If the 460 model is a little too big for what you want, your next best option is the 427 Boss V8 crate engine. In terms of the design, it is basically identical to its larger counterpart. It still utilizes a cast iron block and aluminum Ford Performance Z2 cylinder heads. The only major difference is that it has 7.0L of displacement instead of 7.5L. Despite that decrease in volume, you are still able to get a ton of power out of this engine.

When operating at maximum performance, the 427 Boss V8 has an output of 543 horsepower and 540 pound-feet of torque. The other difference between it and the 460 is that this one has a slightly increased compression ratio of 10.5:1. The key to maintaining this engine's power is those Z2 cylinder heads. They improve the power while being able to maintain original equipment manufacturer (OEM) exhaust for a very stable performance throughout the RPM range of the engine.

With a price of $15,000, you are looking at something that costs nearly half of what the most powerful engine on this list costs, but you are most certainly not settling for half the power. The 427 Boss V8 crate engine may rank low here, but that doesn't mean it isn't a powerhouse in and of itself.

For the final entry on this list, the Boss engine family makes yet another appearance. There is a reason that this family was basically the top of the mountain for several years before the newer engines supplanted it. This is also the final Ford Performance crate engine for sale that surpasses 500 horsepower in output, putting it in a rather illustrious group. That engine is the 363 Boss V8 crate engine.

Like with the 460 and 427 Boss V8s, this is another crate engine that is built with a cast iron block and aluminum Z2 cylinder heads. Everything about the design is exactly the same with the sole difference being the displacement. As the 363 name suggests, this is a 6.0L engine and is the smallest Boss family V8 that is sold as a crate engine. There was a slightly larger 6.2L/379 engine at one point, but that is not sold as a crate engine currently. That is okay because the 363 V8 is powerful enough on its own. It is able to generate 507 horsepower and 450 pound-feet of torque at peak performance. Like the other Boss family models, it is available with either a front sump pan or a rear sump pan, depending on your design preference. You are still getting the same power output with both variations. Although the 363 Boss V8 may not jump out at you for being powerful because it is in last place on this list, there are still many other crate engines the Ford Performance offers that do not hold a candle to its performance.