Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General Truth or Fiction?

I was surfing a Mazda 6 forum and there was a discussion on the Duratech. One poster stated that the 2.5 duratech was designed by Porsche. Fact or Fiction?

Fact.

According to Terry Haines, one of the original engineers on the Mondeo (Contour) in Europe, that is true.

It is interesting to me though, that it shares a lot of engineering detail with the Lincoln Mark VIII engine though. They are both considered as part of the modular engine family, along with the SOCH 4.6, 5.4, and 6.8 as well as the DOHC 5.4 and even the new 3 valve 4.6 and 5.4.

That means that it is related to the Cobra engine as well as the engine in the new GT.

Wow, look at that, both of us replied at the same time.

fact casting process by cosworth

Well, I hate to parse words, here, but I think the most accurate statement is that a lot of the initial engineering was contracted to Porsche, and that Porsche built a prototype. I think the production Duratec is considerably different than that prototype, and, ultimately, designed by Ford engineers with a lot of foundational work from Porsche. The Porsche design was not accepted whole-hog, in other words. That's what I gather to be Terry's meaning, though I could be wrong on some level.

Now for the tidbit of the day:

Porsche has been building sports cars for a long time, and they've produced some bulletproof engines, but they've also had some "exotic" problems. When they pushed the magnesium flat-6 to 2.7 liters, they started having cooling issues, and 911s were blowing engines with regularity at 50,000 miles. The later 16v 944S had head issues, as well, again likely the result of pushing a powerplant too far. Non-turbo 944s are interference designed, and also have waterpump issues. Many owners replace the waterpump with the timing belt every 30,000 miles.

I only bring this up as a counterpoint to the usual thinking that "if only stupid Ford had accepted the Porsche design, we wouldn't have problem x or y." That may or may not be true, IMHO, and yet my enthusiasm for 944s and 2.7l 911s isn't dampened a bit.