Battle Royal Down Under
For the last decade Ford Australia and GM's Holden brand have been embroiled in a power duel that's ever bit as fierce as the one in Detroit. Ford's Falcon sedan and Holden's Commodore full-size four-door are the two major players. Not only do these large four-door sedans share similar physical dimensions and outward appearances, they both benefit from optional V8 engines with 400-plus hp.

The two sedans are also the dominant players in V8 Supercar racing, a series that's roughly equivalent to NASCAR except the races are run on road courses. At dealerships, however, it's Holden, or more precisely Holden Special Vehicles (HSV) — the company's high-performance partner — that has consistently had the upper hand. Not anymore.

Code-Name: Miami
Ford Performance Vehicles' search for a new V8 power plant began almost five years ago. A change was always in the cards, simply because the outgoing 5.4-liter V8 engine that had produced up to 422 hp was unable to meet Australia's latest emissions standard.

After searching in Europe and the USA, FPV found the engine it was looking for in Ford's new 5.0-liter V8, the same engine that debuted in the 2011 Mustang. FPV code-named its version of the engine "Miami" and spent as much as $40 million U.S. to develop it. For that sort of money you'd expect something special. And it really is.

The Miami engine retains the Coyote's aluminium 4,971cc block and the DOHC, four-valve-per-cylinder heads, but that's where most of the similarities end. Since FPV planned to supercharge the Miami V8, a new set of Mahle forged pistons were used to lower the compression ratio from the standard 11.0:1 to a more boost-friendly 9.25:1. Metaldyne connecting rods were also added for increased strength, while the cylinder heads received revised exhaust valves able to withstand increased temperatures.