Horsepower gets all the attention, but when you buy a truck, torque is KING. Here are the top 10 Ford truck engines with the most torque!
The Ford F-Series lineup has been the bestselling vehicle in the United States for nearly four decades. Part of the ongoing popularity is the fact that the F-150 and Super Duty models routinely offered the most powerful engines in their segment. While big power numbers help sell trucks, they also make trucks far more capable and for people who actually use their trucks, big torque plays a key role in new truck purchases. Today, we bring you the top 10 Ford truck engines that offer the most torque from the factory.
You may be thinking this is going to be a diesel-only list, but there are plenty of gassers as well as some other new tech on this list too.
10. Supercharged 5.4-Liter Triton V8 – 450 lb-ft
Ford used multiple forms of the 5.4-liter Triton V8 in the 1990s, but the version featured in the F-150 SVTLightning was the most powerful of them all. Packing 450 lb-ft of torque, the F-150 Lightning was the quickest and fastest truck when it was introduced and even today, the performance capabilities of the supercharged half-ton are relatively unrivaled.
This engine was also featured in the F-150 Harley-Davidson edition with 425 lb-ft, but this would serve as Ford’s most torque-heavy V8 until the Super Duty 7.3-liter was introduced for the 2020 model year. Even compared to today’s 5.0-liter in the F-150, the Lightning engine from the early-2000s is still the most powerful modern gasoline V8 offered in a half-ton Ford truck.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
