On February 1, 2011, Checkers Drive-In Restaurants filed for a trademark for the term “Megazilla”. The application is live, but we can’t find any record of the American hamburger chain serving such a sample. Similarly, in 2020, Ford Performance teased a crate engine called Megazilla toward the end of 2020, the same year the automaker put its 7.3-liter Godzilla V8 in the Super Duty lineup. Everyone thought that Ford wanted to keep giving its V8 combustion engines good while the world moved towards electrification, and that the automaker also wanted to target one of those parting shots at Mopar’s Hellephant V8 crate of 1,000 horsepower and 950 pound-foot engine. But like that Dammenburger, we heard nothing about it. Until now. CarBuzz discovered that Ford had filed an application to reserve the Megazilla name in four countries with the US Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO), the Australian Intellectual Property Office (AIP) and the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ).
The naturally aspirated Godzilla makes 430 horsepower and 475 pound-feet of torque. Ford Performance product manager Mike Goodwin said in the only comments we have so far about the new engine: “We are also working on a top-secret project known as the Megazilla. It involves the power of the 430 horsepower coming from the production crate engine .” Bets seem divided on whether that bonus oomph will come from reworking the NA engine or pinning it to turbo or supercharged forced induction. Based on the tuner results of the past two years, either way could yield huge profits. The same summer Godzilla came out, former Ford Performance honcho Brian Wolfe pulled in 789 horsepower and 558 pound-feet of torque before adding turbines or propellers. The same month Godwin brought up Megazilla, Merkel Racing Engines created a modified twin-snail setup with dual intercoolers and larger injectors, leading to a dyno chart with 1,114 horsepower and 1,037 lb-ft. Ford Authority reported that the automaker will take the turbocharger route. Not to mention, Willis Performance Enterprises stuck with the 3.0-liter Whipple supercharger built specifically for this application. Combining that with some additional parts like new heads, camshaft and lifters, WPE achieved 1,450 horsepower and 1,030 pound-feet.
So the engine is ready for four figures in both output columns if Ford really wants its megafauna to obscure the demon pachyderm. As for where Megazilla might go, well, “Anywhere” is the answer any tuner would give, and they would be correct. But the trademark filings in Australia and New Zealand are interesting. Ford Performance engineers tested a Godzilla engine lurking under a hood bulge on a Mustang prototype, which Mustang conveniently and coincidentally “just lying around” in the Ford store. Ford is sending the F-150 to the home of the late great Steve Irwin by the end of next year, but New Zealand doesn’t seem to be on the list just yet; it only gets the Raptor. However, both countries are big fans of the Mustang (relative to their population size), and the enthusiasts of neither country would miss the chance to taunt a horse powered by a giant lizard.
As for when we’ll find out what’s really going on, the SEMA show will run from November 1-4 this year, a great place to show strength.
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