To Ford, General Motors crossed a line when it endowed the new 6.6-liter Duramax diesel with 397 horsepower and 765 pound-feet of torque. Engaged in a truck war that will possibly never end, the Blue Oval has fired back with an engine software upgrade for its also-new 6.7-liter Power Stroke V-8, upping the ever-important numbers to 400 horsepower and 800 pound-feet of torque.

Last month, word through the grapevine was Ford was considering an ECU revision for the 2011 Super Duty’s Power Stroke diesel V-8 in response to the new LML-series Duramax. The new Power Stroke was originally rated at 390 horsepower and 735 pound-feet of torque, with peak torque coming at 1600 rpm.

“We know that durability and reliability is uppermost in the minds of our Super Duty customers, along with torque and horsepower, so we took a conservative approach that ensured that the new Power Stroke would be absolutely bulletproof while delivering significantly improved power,” said Chris Brewer, chief engineer of the 2011 Super Duty.

According to Ford, the free engine software will take 30 minutes to install. Current owners can pay their local dealers a visit starting August 31 for the adjustment and all new Super Duty trucks from here on will be fitted with the software.

Will and should GM or Cummins respond? Have your say on the heavy-duty truck power struggle below.

Source: Ford

All hope for an armistice in the pickup truck power wars appears to have been pushed out of a seventh-story window. Although General Motors currently has bragging rights over Ford and Dodge (er, Ram), it seems Ford is fervently working on a few small revisions that could once again crown it king of the hill.

Presently, GM’s revised 6.6-liter, twin-turbocharged Duramax diesel V-8 cranks out 397 horsepower and 765 pound-feet of torque — roughly seven horsepower and 30 pound-feet better than the new 6.7-liter Power Stroke turbo-diesel V-8 offered in the new 2011 Ford Super Duty. According to the folks at PickupTrucks.com, that could change within the next several months.

According to the truck enthusiast site, Ford is working on a high-output version of the 6.7 Power Stroke that could produce around 400 horsepower and “at least” 800 pound-feet of torque by tweaking the engine controller. This coincides with earlier reports that suggested Ford could easily tune the engine to produce more power, but it seems the revised ECU may be accompanied by a few hardware changes to either the engine or transmission.

If all goes according to plan, look for the upgraded Super Duty trucks — possibly billed as 2011.5 models — to roll off the line in Louisville, Kentucky, later this year.

Could we see a diesel counterstrike from GM or Dodge/Ram? Perhaps, but not in the near future. We’ve heard Chrysler is working with Cummins to release the full potential of the turbo-diesel inline-six, although a revised package may not arrive until 2012 or so. GM, on the other hand, has admitted its current Duramax is as far as the company can go without crafting an all-new engine.

Source: PickupTrucks.com

OK, so Mazda’s display at the 2010 Goodwood Festival of Speed won’t be nearly as insane as Cummins’ custom Mini, but it will certainly be fun. To help celebrate 20 years of the MX-5 Miata, the Japanese automaker plans on building a life-size slot car track using real MX-5s.

The figure-eight course is designed to resemble an oversized Scalextric set, and features two lanes of travel. Mazda hasn’t indicated if the track will actually be functional, but it has revealed it plans on representing all three generations of the MX-5 on the track. Cars at hand will include an original 1990 MX-5, a 1992 California Special Edition model, a 1991 Le Mans victory edition model, a 1999 10th Anniversary model, and an MX-5 endurance racer.

If that’s not enough to appease the Zoom-Zoom faithful, they can also ogle the new Miyako 20th Anniversary Edition, which was recently launched for the U.K. market. We’re betting more will choose instead to stare at the MX-5 Superlight concept shown at the 2009 Frankfurt motor show, and bemoan the fact there’s little chance the stripped-down roadster will ever make it into production.

Source: Mazda