World’s biggest production V8 engine teased

The arms race between America’s top pickup makers is far from over, with General Motors teasing its latest Duramax turbo-diesel, taking direct aim at the Ford Power Stroke and Ram’s Cummins engines.

Nicknamed the Mongoose, the upcoming 8.3-litre V8 turbo-diesel engine will be added to the Duramax family in the near future, powering the likes of the Chevrolet Silverado HD and its GMC Sierra HD twin.

In doing so, it’ll be the highest-capacity V8 engine ever fitted to a production car from the factory, eclipsing the 8.2-litre V8 fitted to the Cadillac Eldorado from 1968 to 1976.

It’s not the largest V8 General Motors has ever made though, with that honour being held by the ‘ZZ632’ engine, with a 10.4-litre displacement, available as a crate engine or in the ‘COPO’ Camaro drag car.

Crucially, the upcoming Mongoose turbo-diesel V8 will be even bigger than the 6.6-litre Duramax currently powering the Chevrolet Silverado HD, which produces 350kW and 1332Nm in Australian guise.

It’ll give GM a response to Ford’s 6.7-litre Power Stroke turbo-diesel V8, which produces up to 373kW and 1627Nm.

Given the Ford engine is also known as the Scorpion, it’s easy to see why GM chose one of its biggest predators as the name of its rival engine.

Likewise, it’ll take on the Ram 2500/3500 which are powered by a 6.7-litre Cummins straight-six turbo-diesel engine, making 313kW and 1458Nm.

Given the new engine – and vehicles it’ll be fitted to – are yet to be revealed, it’s not yet known whether it’ll come to Australia, where the Silverado HD has consistently outsold its Ram rival over the past handful of years.