How Ford's turbocharged, direct-injection family grew from a small three-cylinder into a range that runs from city cars to pickups, supercars and rally cars, and the recalls that came with it.
EcoBoost is a turbocharged, direct-injection engine family from Ford, running from a 1.0-litre three-cylinder to a 3.5-litre V6. Its purpose was to match the output of bigger engines while cutting fuel use and costs, and it now spans cars, vans and pickups.
EcoBoost is the name Ford gives to its family of turbocharged, direct-injection petrol engines. It spans three-cylinder units whose blocks fit an A4-sized footprint and V6s that power pickups and performance cars. Ford argues the family delivers the power of larger naturally aspirated engines while using less fuel.
What is the EcoBoost engine?
Ford claims EcoBoost offers up to 20% better fuel efficiency and 15% fewer greenhouse emissions than the engines it replaces. The company sees the technology as less costly and more versatile than developing hybrid or diesel systems further, and it uses EcoBoost across most of its lineup.
The programme was originally co-developed with FEV Inc., which is now FEV North America Inc. It adds 128 patents and patent applications to Ford's 4,618 active US patents, and part of the US development and production costs were supported by a $5.9 billion loan from the Department of Energy.
A turbocharged family that started as a three-cylinder and grew into V6s for pickups, supercars and rally cars, with recalls along the way.
Where are EcoBoost engines built?
The V6 EcoBoost engines are assembled at Cleveland Engine Plant No. 1 in Brook Park, Ohio. The 2.0-litre four-cylinder was first produced at the Valencia plant in Spain in 2009, and the 1.6-litre is assembled at the Bridgend Engine Plant in the United Kingdom.
The 1.0-litre first reached US buyers in the 2014 Fiesta sedan and hatchback, after being announced at the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show. It accounted for less than 5% of Fiesta and Focus sales in the US, according to a 2017 report, and in North America it was only available in the EcoSport until 2022.
The smaller three-cylinder 1.0-litre is produced at Ford Germany in Cologne and at Ford Romania in Craiova. Ford's targets for 2012 were 750,000 units a year in the US and 1.3 million globally, while more than 500,000 EcoBoost vehicles had been sold from launch to November 2012.
How did the 1.0-litre three-cylinder change the range?
The 1.0-litre Fox was the first member of the family to reach buyers at scale. It was developed at Ford's Dunton Technical Centre in the UK, and production started in April 2012 with 74 kW (101 PS; 99 hp) and 88 to 92 kW versions.
Both early versions delivered a maximum of 170 N m (125 lb-ft) from 1,400 to 4,500 rpm. The block is cast iron, which warms up to 50% faster than aluminium at the cost of extra weight. The engine uses an oil-bathed timing belt, known as a wet belt, and the flywheel was designed to keep the three cylinders smooth without balance shafts.
The 2019 mild-hybrid version of the 1.0 comes in 125 hp (93 kW; 127 PS) or 154 hp outputs. Its electrified engines can switch off while the car decelerates, up to about 15 mph, and the starter-generator helps reduce turbo lag at certain engine speeds.
The 1.0 won the International Engine of the Year award in 2016, its fifth consecutive win in its class, and it won again in 2017 with a reconfigured version. That update added cylinder deactivation under light load and a dual-mass flywheel, and it went into production in 2018. A 2019 mild-hybrid version used a 48-volt belt-driven starter-generator.
| Family | Configuration | Typical output | Example models |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0-litre Fox | Turbocharged three-cylinder | 99 hp (74 kW) to 123 hp (92 kW) range | Fiesta, Focus, EcoSport |
| 1.5-litre Dragon | Three-cylinder with cylinder deactivation | 197 hp (147 kW; 200 PS) | Fiesta ST |
| 1.6-litre | Turbocharged four-cylinder | 197 hp (147 kW; 200 PS) | C-MAX, Focus, Mondeo |
| 2.0-litre | Turbocharged four-cylinder with Ti-VCT | 275 hp (205 kW; 279 PS) in the first form | Edge, Explorer, Mondeo |
| 2.7-litre | Twin-turbo V6 with a compacted-graphite block | 325 hp (242 kW) in the first form | F-150 |
| 3.5-litre | Twin-turbo V6 on a Duratec 35 block | 415 hp (309 kW) in the TwinForce concept | GT, Taurus SHO, F-150 |
What is the 1.5-litre Dragon engine?
The 1.5-litre Dragon is a three-cylinder EcoBoost with cylinder deactivation, unveiled on 24 February 2017 for the Fiesta ST. In that car it makes 200 PS (147 kW; 197 hp) at 6,000 rpm, and it uses an all-aluminium design.
The engine grew out of the 1.0-litre by raising capacity per cylinder to 500 cc, which Ford regards as about the maximum for good thermal efficiency. It has an integrated exhaust manifold and a low-inertia mixed-flow turbocharger, and it combines port fuel injection with direct injection.
Cylinder deactivation stops fuel delivery and valve operation for one cylinder when full capacity is not needed. In the Fiesta ST its torque peak spans 1,600 to 4,000 rpm, giving a broad mid-range pull of 290 N m (214 lb-ft).
What are the four-cylinder EcoBoost engines?
Four EcoBoost four-cylinder versions have been produced: a 1.5-litre downsized version of the 1.6, the 1.6 itself, a 2.0-litre that replaced small naturally aspirated V6s, and a 2.3-litre for high-performance use. All four are turbocharged and direct-injected.
The 1.6 was first shown in the 2009 Lincoln C concept. The 2.0 was first seen in the 2008 Ford Explorer America concept, and it was the first EcoBoost to use twin independent variable cam timing. A redesigned twin-scroll 2.0 arrived with the second-generation Edge in 2015, and its bore and stroke were changed again for 2022.
The 2022 generation of the 2.0-litre added port injection beside the direct injectors. Its compression ratio is 10.8:1 in petrol cars and 9.5:1 in hybrids, and its bore and stroke became 84 mm and 90 mm.
The twin-scroll 2.0 is built in Cleveland, Ohio and Valencia, Spain. It first appeared in the 2015 Edge and reached the Escape in spring 2016.
The twin-scroll 2.0 raised compression to 10.1:1 from 9.3:1 and was designed to tow 1,600 kg (3,500 lb) in the redesigned Edge and Escape. From the 2020 model year its block gained drilled coolant passages, which largely corrected coolant intrusion.
The 2.3-litre is a derivative of the Mazda L3 and debuted in the 2015 Mustang. It has also appeared in the Lincoln MKC and the Focus RS, and the 2024 MPC version added port injection alongside the direct injectors. A new 2.3 with port injection alongside direct injection arrived for the Mustang of 2024, built at Cleveland with a modular power cylinder layout.
How did the V6 EcoBoost engines develop?
Several V6s followed the 3.5-litre into Ford's range. The 2.7 and 3.5 are the main twin-turbo units, and both have appeared in the F-150 pickup, while the 3.5 also powers the Expedition, Navigator and Transit in several outputs.
The 3.5-litre was the first large EcoBoost. Its story began with TwinForce, a prototype shown in the 2007 Lincoln MKR concept with 415 hp (309 kW) and 400 lb-ft, which was able to run on E85. When the same engine appeared as the Lincoln MKT concept, it was renamed EcoBoost, and production began on 19 May 2009.
The first 3.5 used two BorgWarner K03 turbochargers and a Duratec 35 block. The F-series version could reach up to 100 kPa (15 psi) of boost, while transverse versions used two Garrett GT1549L turbochargers and were limited to 76 kPa (11 psi). The fuel-charging and delivery systems were co-developed with Robert Bosch GmbH. Its fuel system ran at very high pressure to suit direct injection, and the engine could run on regular-grade petrol. It first went on sale as an option for the 2010 Lincoln MKS.
The second-generation 2.7 added port injection alongside its direct injectors and uses a compacted-graphite iron block. Its specific output is 121 hp per litre, compared with 78 hp per litre for the Coyote V8, and it matches the V8's peak torque at a lower 2,750 rpm.
The 2.7-litre arrived in the 2015 F-150 with about 325 hp (242 kW). It was built at the Lima Ford Engine Plant, which received US$500 million of investment, and a second generation followed in 2018 with port injection and a 10-speed transmission. The 3.0-litre came in 2016, derived from the 2.7 with a bigger bore and a longer stroke. It uses a timing chain rather than a wet-belt oil pump and is fitted only with direct injection.
The second-generation 3.5, known as D35, first appeared in the 2017 Ford GT. It added port injection alongside the direct injectors, and its turbochargers used electronically actuated wastegates. The 647 hp Ford GT of 2017 to 2019 used a 3.5-litre V6.
What problems affected EcoBoost engines?
EcoBoost has not been free of problems. Ford refunded hundreds of customers worldwide after engines overheated, and in some cases caused fires. In 2013 it recalled certain Escapes with 1.6-litre engines for the risk of fire after overheating.
In 2015 a South African man died after becoming trapped in his Ford Kuga when its 1.6-litre engine caught fire. A year later, in 2017, Ford South Africa recalled every Kuga in the country for engine checks, and Ford recalled more than 360,000 vehicles for a lack of coolant circulation.
That 2017 recall covered Escape, Fiesta ST, Fusion, Transit Connect, Focus and C-MAX hybrid models with 1.6-litre engines. The recall followed 29 reported fires in the US and Canada, and it contributed to a US$300 million charge for the company.
The 1.0-litre's wet timing belt has also caused trouble. In 2024 Ford recalled 2016-2018 Focus and 2017-2021 EcoSport models over unreliable oil pump drive belt tensioner arms and belt degradation, after 2,099 warranty claims. Separately, the variable cam phaser units on many 3.5-litre engines from the 2020 model year and earlier were found to fail between 40 and 80 thousand miles.
Where has EcoBoost been raced?
EcoBoost engines have a strong record in rallying. Ford's rally cars use several members of the family, from the 1.0-litre Fox in the Fiesta Rally4 and Rally5 to the 1.5-litre Dragon in the Fiesta Rally3. The 1.6-litre powers the Fiesta R5, Rally2, RS WRC and WRC cars, as well as the Puma Rally1.
The 2.0-litre twin-scroll engine is used in the Fiesta Rally2, which M-Sport has detuned to 1600cc. The 1.6 has also been raced in the British Formula Ford Championship, where it replaced the original naturally aspirated 1.6 Duratec units.
At the top end the 3.5-litre V6 powered the Ford GT LM GTE-Pro, which took the engine into endurance racing alongside the road-going Ford GT.
Frequently asked questions
What does EcoBoost mean?
The name is Ford's label for the turbocharged, direct-injection petrol engines in its range. The family is designed to match the output of larger naturally aspirated engines while burning less fuel.
Which EcoBoost engine is the smallest?
The smallest is the 1.0-litre three-cylinder Fox, first produced in April 2012. It is built in Cologne and Craiova and was also made as a mild hybrid from 2019.
Where was the first EcoBoost built?
Official EcoBoost production began on 19 May 2009 at Cleveland Engine Plant No. 1 in Ohio. The first engine in production was the 3.5-litre V6.
Why were some EcoBoost engines recalled?
Several recalls covered overheating and fire risk, including the 2017 recall of more than 360,000 vehicles with 1.6-litre engines. Others involved the 1.0-litre wet belt and the variable cam phasers on some 3.5-litre engines.
