V10 engines aren’t very common in road cars, but there was a time when two of the three biggest American automakers V10 is designed to replace big V8 engine in their heavy-duty truck platforms. Even before Volkswagen GroupBMW and Lexus have built great performance V10 engines, America has mass produced 10 cylinder engines. avoid was the first company to mass produce V10 gasoline engines. Viper sports car in 1991, and Dodge was the first to put a V10 engine into production. heavy duty pickup truck trucks starting in 1994. Contrary to popular belief, the Dodge Ram trucks did not have the same engine as the Viper, and the Viper did not have a truck engine under the hood. When it came time to drop a massive 10-cylinder Mopar engine between the frame rails of the brand’s heavy-duty pickup, Dodge opted for an iron block instead of the Viper’s aluminum block. Starting in 1994, the Dodge Ram 2500 and 3500 featured this iron block 8.0-liter V10 along with a Cummins diesel. The iron block gasoline V10 was called the Magnum V10 and made more horsepower than the diesel, but was more fuel efficient. The Magnum V10 made between 300 and 310 horsepower throughout its production run and 450 pound-feet of torque. The model was dropped from the lineup after 2003, although the Ram SRT-10 sport truck was still produced with the Viper’s aluminum 8.3-liter V10 engine from 2004 to 2006.
Ford’s Triton V10 engine was produced from 1997 to 2021 and was used in a variety of applications, from heavy-duty pickup trucks to E-Series chassis used for school buses and even motorhomes. The engine was part of Ford’s Modular line and shared the bore and stroke with the smaller 5.4-liter Ford V8, but had two additional cylinders. When it was first introduced in 1997, the 6.8-liter V10 produced 275 horsepower and 425 pound-feet of torque, and by the time it was discontinued, it was producing 362 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque. This engine replaces the Ford 7.5-liter V8 that has been in use since the 1960s and is used in the F-250 and F-350 heavy-duty pickup trucks, the Ford Excursion, the E-series heavy-duty trucks, as well as Ford-based motorhomes and buses. The Triton V10 has been replaced by Ford’s 7.3-liter Godzilla V8, which is a significantly more advanced engine that produces more power and is more efficient than the big 10-cylinder.
It may seem like the days of V10-powered trucks are over as we continue to face the worsening climate crisis, but these two American V10s don’t get the love they deserve. These powerful engines don’t have the same appeal as exotic V10s like the Lexus LFA or Porsche Carrera GT, but they sell in significantly larger numbers and are just as efficient. Whether they’re in supercars or school buses, we’ll miss V10s, but change is inevitable.
