The Mustang and four-cylinder engines go a long way back. Ford gifted the 1974 model year with the 2.3-liter Lima, which – in this application – produced 88 horsepower and 116 pound-feet (157 Nm).
Fast forward to the 1984 model year, and the Lima returned with more power than ever before thanks to forced induction. The Mustang SVO was rated at 205 horsepower and 248 pound-feet (336 Nm) for 1985 and a half. The fourth and fifth generations didn't feature inline-four engines, but advancements in engine technology and increasingly draconic regulations forced the Dearborn-based automaker to consider a four-pot for the sixth-generation Mustang.
Enter the 2.3-liter EcoBoost, a well-known lump that shares a cylinder block with the Mazda DISI Turbo. Internally referred to as the S550, the sixth-generation Mustang launched with 310 horsepower and 320 pound-feet (434 Nm) from the original version of the 2.3-liter EcoBoost.
Jessie Ringley is the owner of the 2015 model in the video below, a highly modified fastback whose owner nicknamed the EcoBeast. Care to guess why? For starters, because it develops 800-odd horsepower at the wheels. That, in turn, means 200-plus horsepower for each and every cylinder.
A lifelong four-cylinder turbo enthusiast, Jessie claims that his drag-prepped Mustang EcoBoost probably had five different engines over its lifetime. That's what happens when you push the limit over and over again, so much so that the EcoBeast is capable of clocking 8.5 seconds in the quarter-mile in its current form. More precisely, 8.584 seconds at a staggering 156.66 miles per hour. If you prefer metric, that speed converts to 252.11 kilometers per hour.
Photo: Motive Video on YouTube
Speaking to Motive Video, the owner talks about a plethora of mods, beginning with a Mazda block, a custom-built Kelford camshafts, and XDI direct injection. Beyond 800 to 900 horsepower, Jessie found out the hard way that Ford's block gives up the ghost along the exhaust side. The Japanese company uses a better material and better casting methods for its block, which is why the Mazda block can be easily taken to a Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4-shaming 1,200 horsepower. The Mazda block is stamped FoMoCo because Ford once owned 33.4 percent of Mazda.
Gifted with skinnies up front and beefy drag radials for the rear, the EcoBeast is much obliged to take 60 pounds per square inch of boost. Custom-spec Mahle pistons, R&R aluminum connecting rods, a Mountune dry sump kit, a Magnus V5 cast aluminum intake manifold, and – get this – a stock crankshaft also need to be mentioned, along with a Precision Turbo 8085 Next Gen turbocharger. All that fury is channeled to the rear wheels by a 6R80 auto with a Circle D torque converter and a billet intermediate shaft.
The car is running Ford Performance axles, an 8.8-inch rear end, 3.31 gearing, and nitrous oxide for good measure. Going forward, Jessie intends to switch to a compound setup comprising a twin-scroll 6870 high-pressure turbo and an 8685 low-pressure turbo. A billet block is on the horizon as well, with Jessie targeting 1,500 to 1,600 horsepower.
"With that, I want to go deep into the 7s and then start clawing my way toward the 6s," said the owner. "8s is fun, but it's slow to me. I got to get in the 7s and then I'll talk about maybe being fast."
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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