Ford introduced the Coyote V8 for the 2011 model year. The 5.0-liter engine first appeared in the Mustang GT, replacing Ford’s aging 4.6-liter and 5.4-liter Modular V8s.
The Coyote was designed to answer the Chevrolet Camaro’s 6.2-liter LS3 and Chrysler’s 6.4-liter Hemi. Ford kept the new engine close to the outgoing Modular V8’s dimensions so it could use existing tooling, but gave it an aluminum block, four-valve-per-cylinder DOHC heads, and twin independent variable cam timing.
A common mix-up is the distinction between calendar-year production and model-year introduction: Coyote engines were first produced in 2010, but the engine’s public vehicle debut was in the 2011 Mustang GT. It displaced 4,951 cc, commonly rounded to 5.0 liters, and originally used port fuel injection rather than direct injection.
The Coyote also revived the Ford flathead V8’s 1-5-4-8-6-3-7-2 firing order, replacing the sequence used by earlier Modular V8s.