74Mach1

There's a natural tendency to associate any Ford V8 engine, such as the current mod motor, with excellence. That's due to the racing legacy of the 289 Cobras and early GT40s, the 427 Cobras, and later 427 GT40s, the 427s and 429s of NASCAR and the 428s at the drags. That's as it should be - these were significant engines. Unfortunately, there's also a tendency to associate any Ford 6 cylinder engine with Ford's gutless inline 6s and the recent 3.8 liter that should never have been transplanted out of the minivans. I think it might help if owners of the current V6 remembered the "Cologne V6's" racing heritage.

The Cologne V6 has been around for a long time, having debuted as a 2.0 liter engine in 1964. It was one of the first naturally balanced, 60 degree, V6s produced for mass consumption. During the 41 years since, it has been used in a lot of applications, some mundane, but some exceptional - even heroic.

Rather than try to condense the V6's entire racing heritage into a short posting, I'll just mention a couple of highlights. In 1971 racing legend Jochen Mass won the European Touring Car (similar to NASCAR in status) driver's championship in a Capri powered by the Cologne V6 beating the renowned BMW 3.0 liter inline 6s. World F1 champion Nicki Lauda drove a similar Capri.

The high point probably came in 1972 when a Capri with a Cologne V6 won its class in both the 24 Hours of LeMans and the Nurburgring 1000 km races. The 3.4 liter, normally asperated version of the Cologne V6 made 440 bhp at 8750 rpm.

Clearly, the Cologne V6 is both an engine to be proud of and one with a great deal of potential for making horsepower. We V6 drivers should be as proud of our engines as owners of 1969-70 Boss 302 are of theirs.

Finally, let me anticipate a couple of attacks from the V8 elitist crowd. First, you can say that 1972 was a long time ago. True enough. But if the achievements of the Cologne V6 are irrelevant, then so are those of the 289, 302, 427, 428 and 429 V8s, not to mention the F1 Cosworth V8s. Heritage, by definition, comes from the past. And, hey. Of all these great engines, only the Cologne V6 is still around in production Fords.

Second, you can say that the racing Cologne V6 has little in common with the current street version. But that's true of any racing engine. And if the V8 guys get to bask in the reflected glory of remembering Parnelli Jones winning in the Trans Am in 1970 with his Boss 302, certainly we V6 guys get to bask in the glory of Jochen Mass winning all but one race in 1971 with his Cologne V6.

Lalo

Maverick128

Thank you. I was actually starting to feel bad that I've decided to get a V6 to save money and this post made me feel a little better about my decision.

Zodiac

Man, never doubt your car. Its class and performance with some get up and go all rolled into one.. at a way more affordable price than the v8s will ever get! If you have to have a v8 to boost your ego I say you're just compensating in other areas anyway

sundeep

This talk of the Cologne V6 reminds me of a post on this site last year where some guys were saying the DOHC, multi valve heads of the current European engine could fit on our larger block and add a good deal of HP and efficiency. I think I have the thread bookmarked at home..

Does anyone know if this is possible?

Here's the link, I found it buried in the general posts...
http://forums.bradbarnett.net/index.php?sh...1145&hl=cologne