Ford debuts its most powerful crate engine to date with this Frostwarden Bronco build.
Welcome to SEMA, everyone, where Las Vegas will host some of the most insane builds you’re likely to see (at least until next year’s edition rolls around). Several manufacturers are jumping in on the action, though Ford is definitely bringing one of the most horsepower-crazy builds to the party with this Bronco Frostwarden build.
Just what makes it crazy? Well, wrapped in the guise of an Arctic search-and-rescue rig, there’s an absolute beast of a Ford Racing Parts heart lurking within. I’m not just talking about a jumped-up EcoBoost, either: This build is packing a supercharged 7.3-liter V8 under its hood. Appropriately dubbed “Megazilla 2.0”, this crate engine — and that’s a clue to what this build is all about — puts out 1,200 horsepower and over 1,000 lb-ft of torque (on race fuel). So, you’re looking at more than two Bronco Raptors’ worth of grunt here.
To create that level of power, the Megazilla 2.0 starts with the 7.3-liter V8 that normally lives in Ford’s trucks (and is also available in its crate engine lineup). The second iteration also brings in a bespoke camshaft to the original Megazilla unit. You also get upgraded pistons, larger fuel injectors, a different belt drive, and of course the 3.0-liter Gen 6 Whipple supercharger to really send those power and torque figures into the stratosphere.
The build hardly stops with the engine, however. The Frostwarden also packs a set of 18-inch Weld beadlock wheels, with an incredibly beefy set of 42-inch BFGoodrich tires. To accommodate such a large tire package, the build also incorporates 74Weld portal gear lifts and a wider track than you’ll even see with the Raptor.
Now, while Ford’s team worked frantically with Louisville, Tennessee’s Kincer Chassis to prepare the Frostwarden build, the Bronco itself is (sadly) not available for purchase. As it committed to the concept and pushed through the build throughout the summer and into the fall, the idea was to build a vehicle around that Megazilla 2.0 crate engine.
Much like so many other SEMA builds you’ll see as the show officially kicks off in Las Vegas Tuesday, the Frostwarden gets the imagination going for what sorts of projects you could feasibly build with the crate engine. Ford did not get into specifics on prospective availability or pricing of a Megazilla 2.0 crate engine, but we will hopefully get some more information on that soon. For reference, the existing Megazilla 1.0 engine comes in around $25,295, so the Megazilla 2.0 will likely go well north of that figure.
