EcoBoost Hits the Strip: MKS gets through the quarter mile in 14 flat

[barbarian]

We haven't had a chance to strap our test equipment to any EcoBoosted Lincoln MKS (or any other EcoBoosted product from FoMoCo, for that matter). But, last night, we did the next best thing: We took the twin-turbo V6 Lincoln to the local drag strip, in Milan, Michigan.

The direct injection 3.5-liter makes a substantial 355 horsepower (on premium fuel, anyway) but it also has a big ol' all-wheel-drive sedan to pull around. Nonetheless, the car rips off 14-second runs all night long. In the cool of the evening, the MKS EcoBoost posted one 13.9-second run, but earlier in the 75-degree afternoon repeated runs in three different cars yielded near-identical runs in right at 14 and about 104 mph. Good stuff.

For perspective, in our more formal testing the 2006 Shelby GT-H Mustang ran a 13.9 @ 101.1 mph. A 2010 Mustang GT ran the quarter in the mid-13s. The MKS nips anything that could be considered a competitor by at least a few tenths. Both the Caddy STS V8 and Infinti M45 get it done in 14.4. Keep in mind, the MKS figures are are not subject to our weather correction, as the other numbers quoted here, but we don't expect the numbers would change significantly if they were.

A Flex EcoBoost, on hand for giggles, will do the deed in 14.5. Presumably, an MKT woud do pretty much the same.

Incidentally, Milan Dragway is pronounced "MY-lin," not "mee-LAHN," like some kind of fancy-pants Italian Mercury sedan.


http://blogs.edmunds.com/straightlin...n-14-flat.html

[barbarian]

[The Monty]

Wholly shoot, how heavy is the thing? It crosses the line at 104mph, thats wayyy into 13 second territory for an aussie big 6.

[The Monty]

Ok, to answer my own question, a curb weight of 1953kg!!! Add in a 100KG driver, and thats 2053 kg. Jeeesus. Someone needs to go on a diet.
Oh, and it can tow a HUGGGE amount of 453kg.

XR6t weighs 1770kg, and can tow 1200kg.

[XR Martin]

Originally Posted by The Monty

Ok, to answer my own question, a curb weight of 1953kg!!! Add in a 100KG driver, and thats 2053 kg. Jeeesus. Someone needs to go on a diet.
Oh, and it can tow a HUGGGE amount of 453kg.

XR6t weighs 1770kg, and can tow 1200kg.

They dont really use cars to tow there, they all use Pickups.
Its quite uncommon to see a towbar on anything other than Pickups.
About the only thing they might tow with a car is a waverunner or a snowmobile.

[Lukeyson]

i was wondering how heavy it was, cheers monty.

im a pretty sure FG XR6t in a manual can tow at max 1600, and auto 2300 ?

[Falcon Coupe]

Originally Posted by XR8fella

im a pretty sure FG XR6t in a manual can tow at max 1600, and auto 2300 ?

That is correct.

355hp being around 260kw makes this an impressive effort to move an 1953kg Behemoth into the 13's, it must have huge torque.

I wonder what sort of fuel economy it gets.

[AUXRVIII]

Originally Posted by XR8fella

i was wondering how heavy it was, cheers monty.

im a pretty sure FG XR6t in a manual can tow at max 1600, and auto 2300 ?

XR6T Sedan has max 1600kg towing, XR6T Ute Auto can tow 2300kg.

[barbarian]

Originally Posted by XR8fella

i was wondering how heavy it was, cheers monty.

im a pretty sure FG XR6t in a manual can tow at max 1600, and auto 2300 ?

Truth to be told, who gives two hoots about towing?

If you want to tow, buy a land cruiser :

[chevypower]

Yes, the F-series will be the vehicles for towing, and even that will have EcoBoost soon. The fuel economy in the EcoBoost V6 vehicles is exactly the same as the same engine in the same vehicle without ecoboost. Now that's impressive! People have to remember these vehicles are AWD, V6, 7 seater crossovers/SUVs. So 22mpg isn't all that bad. Put it in a 2wd car, and you would probably see closer to 30mpg.

[The Monty]

16 mpg city, 25 mpg highway.
475nm torque.

[EDManual]

Thats pretty bad economy!!

[Nikked]

Originally Posted by EDManual

Thats pretty bad economy!!

For a Twinturbo, 2000kg, 14 second luxobarge?

[phillyc]

Originally Posted by EDManual

Thats pretty bad economy!!

As Gecko pointed out, those figures are based off US gallons which are 3.78 litres vs 4.55 litres per imperial gallon which we normally use.

So those figures of 16mpg/25mpg become 19mpg/30mpg. ie 14.7/9.4L/100km.

NB Their testing procedures aren't the same as ours etc.

[The Monty]

I get that in my monty, lol but it aint as fast as that.

[geckoGT]

You also have to remember when talking about fuel economy there is a difference between MPG (US) and MPG (UK). Aussies tend to refer to MPG in UK figures as that was who our system was based on before we went metric.

As an example, here are some figures off our Mini which can do all three figures.

L/100km= 6.6
MPG US= 35.7
MPG UK= 42.9
So keeping this in mind, the fuel economy figures are approx double when compared with the Mini, which gives a L/100km reading in the 13's for city which is not unlike what the XR6T gets. Not really a bad result considering the performance and weight of the car.

As for towing, who cares. Why does everyone want a car that can do sub 14's, cut a fast lap of the track and tow 2t?

[The Monty]

Originally Posted by geckoGT

Why does everyone want a car that can do sub 14's, cut a fast lap of the track and tow 2t?

I meant you forgot to add the 40mpg everyone expects from it. Sorry for the confusion :

[Ohio XB]

Yes, please remember there is more gasoline in an imperial gallon than a US gallon. Also, as mentioned, the method of evaluating fuel mileage is performed differently based on the difference in typical driving conditions.

The MKS is heavy because it is a luxury car. With the heavy weight the suspension gets better travel with less being conveyed to the passenger compartment. People purchasing these luxury cars are concerned first with looks, then with ride quality, and ride quality in this respect is considered how smooth, quiet, and comfortable the ride is without feeling too "floaty".

If you find an MKS with a trailer hitch on it I will pay to get it plated with gold! Though some cars are used for towing the MKS will not be used by an American to tow even a bicycle.

14 seconds flat for a luxury boat is impressive. Maximum torque is reached at about 1,500 RPM as the TT spool up very quickly because of their small size. This was on purpose. The torque curve is then flat (like calm water) after that up to about 4,800 - 5,000 RPM.

I've been waiting for someone to take one to the track. I am satisfied with the performance. It is beating it's V8 competition in acceleration, easily competes with them for content, technology, and quality. It works for me. With more torque down low it has to be more fun to drive as well.


Steve

[Watto_Cobra]

Originally Posted by Ohio XB

....... Maximum torque is reached at about 1,500 RPM as the TT spool up very quickly because of their small size. This was on purpose. The torque curve is then flat (like calm water) after that up to about 4,800 - 5,000 RPM.............

Flat as a table top like our turbo I6 eh? That can only be a good thing

[Quicksand]

Originally Posted by Ohio XB

14 seconds flat for a luxury boat is impressive.

12.89 second G6eT FTW!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway back on topic...this car looks pretty nice, and 14 flat is pretty good; its about on par with a BA MK2 XR6T but with all the fruit and a fair bit more weight!

All Wheel Drive has other potential than the 1/4 mile, but its interesting to know nonetheless,

Cheers for posting!

T

[Ohio XB]

Originally Posted by Inducted_Breeze

12.89 second G6eT FTW!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway back on topic...this car looks pretty nice, and 14 flat is pretty good; its about on par with a BA MK2 XR6T but with all the fruit and a fair bit more weight!

All Wheel Drive has other potential than the 1/4 mile, but its interesting to know nonetheless,

Cheers for posting!

T

The car you reference is modified and weighs 3,750 pounds to the MKS weighing 4,400 pounds. That is a 650 pound weight difference.

Steve

[The Monty]

You forgot 40mpg

[geckoGT]

Originally Posted by The Monty

You forgot 40mpg

??????

I do not see what you are saying here.

[XR Martin]

I call BS on a Mini doing 6.6L in the city, unless its a Diesel

[geckoGT]

Originally Posted by XR6 Martin

I call BS on a Mini doing 6.6L in the city, unless its a Diesel

I used those figures off my mini trip computer as I can change the trip computer between the three different measurements. I did this to make a point. That is what my mini cooper s jcw is showing at the moment. My average driving is not just city as I do a lot of highway driving and my area has a lot of 80km/h zones (where it sits on about 3-4L/100km).

Besides this, a mini cooper s has a combined cycle of 6.9L/100km (Austrailan model). There is no mention of 6.6 for city. On occasions of more city driving ours tends to sit more around the 7.5L/100km mark. By the way, I do not drive it like a grandma, I don't have to. The ute gets driven with a lighter foot as it is a gas guzzler. In the same type of driving that the mini gets 6.6 the ute returns 14.

You also need to realise there a a few differences between a US mini and a UK/Australian one so there may be a small difference in fuel consumption.

At the end of the day I do not care as I was not talking advertised figures, I was quoting what is on my trip computer righ now, so I do not see how you can call BS to that :

[XR Martin]

Mini in the US is rated at 8.4L/100km in the City, compared to what the UK rate it at which is 6.8L.

[Wretched]

That car is too heavy.
Though it is a nice looking machine compared to the previous offers in the US.
That AWD would be adding a few kgs.

[phillyc]

Originally Posted by Wretched

Though it is a nice looking machine compared to the previous offers in the US.

Yeah, the MKS is a very fine looking vehicle. Quite like the grille too.

[5.4 GT]

Originally Posted by Wretched

That AWD would be adding a few kgs.

Hence why we don't want it in the Falcon, which is already heavy enough.

Originally Posted by The Monty

475nm torque.

The torque is not anyway near sufficient for a vehicle of that weight to have at least decent performance.

[banarcus]

That Lincoln looks the goods, a very upmarket look. I wonder whether they'll bother sending over here as some sort of smallish premium Fairlane replacement?