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How Ford’s Niche Line Builds The 760 HP 2020 Shelby GT500’s 5.2-liter Predator V8

obspsd

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Full article: https://www.hotrod.com/articles/202...l-predator-built-ford-proud-romeo-niche-line/

Donning safety vests and goggles, and we enter the main floor of the sprawling, Romeo Engine Plant. Remaining vigilant to stay within the painted safety path, we follow Manufacturing Engineer Brad Omaits through the 2,043,778 square-foot facilities. The building is eerily quiet, as the 2.3- and 6.2-liter engine parts aren’t running down the line. That is of little concern. We are on the way to a special place — a place where dreams are constructed.

It’s not that other areas of the company don’t build cool stuff, but there is a place where the company’s elite technicians build the company’s most precision, high-output powerplants. Since 1996, when it was created to build the Four-Valve 4.6-liter V8 powering the Mustang Cobra, the Niche Line remains the place where the Blue Oval’s elite eight-cylinder engines are assembled. From the Terminator to the Trinity and the GT350 to the first-gen Ford GT, the Niche Line is the birthplace of legends.

Despite its stature as the Valhalla of factory horsepower, the Niche Line is a truly hidden gem. As we snaked through the main plant, we saw what many think of when the term “assembly line.” It seemed there were miles of automated machinery designed to put engines together. As we rounded a corner, there was an unassuming storage cabin plastered with stickers, some of which you might see on a racer’s toolbox. On the door next to the cabinet, an ordinary sign hangs. It reads “Niche Line.”

As the door swings open, there is a small break room and upon exiting this sanctuary, visitors are greeted with a group of engines built on this line in the past all the way up to the present. Clear and present are several 760-horsepower 5.2-liter Predator V8s — the impetus for this visit.


Here’s the video from the article. Music is very annoying but still a cool video.

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Jmeo

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Such a great video and link, thank you for sharing. I could watch that video over and over (muted), and I think I will for the next 3 months while waiting! I must say seeing a flange on both exhaust manifolds means cat deletes will be bolt on with this car. Nice.
 

chill66

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Great video, thanks for posting.

My question is, where did this guy get that shirt?! I want one!
gt500_shirt.png
 

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Great video, thanks for posting.

My question is, where did this guy get that shirt?! I want one!
gt500_shirt.png
I got the exact same one from Woodward Dream Cruise... for free!
 

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I got the exact same one from Woodward Dream Cruise... for free!
Lucky! I've been trying to find a shirt like this for the GT500. I have a similar one I got free for the GT350. I might need to search ebay!
 

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That’s one huge ass crank pulley. Looks like billet too. Bet they had lots of harmonic issues to solve and that’s why it’s so big.
 
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