Volkswagen T2 bus gets Coyote V8 engine from Ford Mustang (580 hp!)

“I had to have a Coyote,” explains the owner

Could Ben Pon have dreamed about an American V8 when he drew the iconic Volkswagen van? If so, his dream will now come true. A certain John Henns bought an old bus and worked on it for two years to achieve the result above. As a gigantic icing on the cake, he had a Ford Coyote V8 engine from a Mustang installed in his Volkswagen T2 bus.

There is of course no room in the front for the large, American eight-cylinder. That is why the engine ended up in the storage space against the bulkhead between the cabin and the luggage compartment. Through a window at the top of the bulkhead you can proudly look down at the Ford engine. The Coyote, by the way, is a 5.2-liter V8 that produces 580 hp and 603 Nm. The engine is also found in the Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 and the cylinder head is also used in the Mustang Shelby GT500.

Why a Ford V8 engine in a Volkswagen T2 bus?

The choice for the Volkswagen Type 2 was easy: 'You just have a lot of fun with the bus and other people enjoy seeing it.' With his idea to put the Ford Coyote engine on the bus, Henns went to a chassis builder. To provide enough space for the V8, a new, wider chassis was introduced.

Also read: This Volkswagen T2 makes its own hydrogen (and also runs on it)

The maker of the chassis wanted to install an LS engine from General Motors in the bus. The owner explains why he did not opt for the GM engine: 'Everyone does an LS, so you can't do that. I always thought the Mustang sounded great, so I had to have it. I had to have the Coyote.”

How much does a Ford V8 engine cost?

You can simply order the engine from Ford in a crate. You pay $26,495 for this, which is approximately 25,000 euros. The entire package weighs almost 230 kilos and in this VW bus is attached to a six-speed Ford automatic gearbox. According to the presenter in the video below, the V8 can sound 'like a Prius', but when the accelerator is pressed deeper, the Ford engine growls like a heavy metal band.

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