Ford’s SEMA Bronco concept packs a supercharged Megazilla V8 making over 1,200 horsepower

Ford put a Bronco concept called the Frostwarden on the floor at the 2026 SEMA Show in Las Vegas with a supercharged Megazilla V8 making over 1,200 horsepower and over 1,000 lb-ft of torque. The engine is a 7.3-liter pushrod V8 topped with a 3.0-liter Whipple supercharger, and Ford describes the Megazilla line as the most powerful crate engine ever created by an automaker.

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The truck around it is styled after a Bronco used for Arctic search-and-rescue work, finished in black and mustard with carbon-fiber cabin accents and dual-exit exhaust tips. It is a SEMA concept and is not headed for series production, so the number is a statement about what the crate-engine program can do.

Cenizo’s reporting separates two numbers that are easy to blur. Megazilla 2.0 as a catalog product is a 7.3-liter engine with a target of over 1,000 horsepower, while the Frostwarden’s over-1,200 horsepower and over-1,000 lb-ft figure belongs to the version fitted to this one concept. The gap is at least 200 horsepower, a margin of about a fifth, and it shows the supercharged 7.3-liter has headroom beyond the figure Ford uses for the production-bound engine. Autoblog’s coverage of the 2027 Bronco’s new 380-horsepower V6 offers a yardstick: the concept’s output is more than three times what a showroom Bronco carries.

Megazilla 2.0: the supercharged 7.3-liter behind the number

Autoblog senior editor Sebastian Cenizo, who covered the concept on November 3, lists what separates Megazilla 2.0 from the naturally aspirated Megazilla 1.0: a stronger block, a camshaft made for the supercharger, beefier pistons, bigger fuel injectors, a different belt drive and damper, and the Gen 6 Whipple 3.0-liter blower under a bright blue painted cover. Ford’s baseline for the catalog engine is over 1,000 horsepower, so the Frostwarden’s over-1,200 figure sits well above it.

Kim Mathers, director of Ford vehicle personalization and performance parts, laid out the engine’s earlier specification in a Ford post from 2025: forged pistons and rods, a steel crankshaft, ported and polished heads and upgraded valve springs, aimed at competition use such as desert pre-runners and drag racing. The Drive reported in January 2025 that the engine is for non-road use only, and that the naturally aspirated Megazilla makes 638 lb-ft at 4,650 rpm and was listed at $22,995, per its coverage.

Frostwarden’s chassis: portal gear, 42-inch tires and Dana help

Kincer Chassis in Tennessee widened the Bronco, and the hardware list reads like an expedition catalog. The build uses 74Weld portal gear lifts, custom 18-inch Weld bead-lock wheels, 42-inch BFGoodrich tires and custom Bilstein dampers, with steel bumpers and a front winch. Dana helped upgrade the driveline, RTR traction-board holders ride on the roof and tailgate, and Rigid supplied extra lighting. Builder details are on the Kincer Chassis site.

The off-road package gives the engine something to prove. A 42-inch tire on an 18-inch bead-lock wheel puts a great deal of rotating mass at the end of each portal-geared axle, and the driveline work with Dana is aimed at keeping power flowing to those tires. The concept’s search-and-rescue story ties the build to a theme of cold, remote terrain, which suits a truck with a winch and recovery boards on the roof.

Ford has not disclosed a price for the engine. Cenizo estimates a naturally aspirated Megazilla 1.0 starts well over $20,000, a 3.0-liter Whipple supercharger costs $7,000 to $15,000, and Megazilla 2.0 could land in the $30,000 range. Ford’s own Megazilla 1.0 product page is the reference for the entry-level engine.

The price estimates can be checked against the published list price. The Drive put the naturally aspirated Megazilla at $22,995 in early 2025, and adding Autoblog’s $7,000 to $15,000 estimate for a Whipple 3.0-liter supercharger produces a range of roughly $29,995 to $37,995, which brackets the $30,000 figure Cenizo expects. That arithmetic is an outside estimate, not a Ford quote, and the supercharged engine also needs the stronger internals described above, so Ford’s eventual number could differ.

SEMA as the proving ground for crate-engine hardware

SEMA 2026 runs November 3 to 6 at the renovated Las Vegas Convention Center, with exhibitor demand past 1 million net square feet and more than 2,000 brands committed, according to the show’s preview coverage. Matt Simpson, Ford’s customization executive director, said the company is increasing its investment and presence this year, and a Bronco with a record-claiming engine is the kind of exhibit that supports that statement.

Ford is one of several automakers exhibiting alongside Honda Racing Corporation, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Stellantis and Toyota North America, which turns the show floor into a contest of factory-backed halo builds. The Megazilla-powered Frostwarden is Ford’s way of putting its crate-engine catalog in front of the aftermarket buyers who attend, and the same 2025 Ford post lists a supercharged 5.0-liter Coyote V8 aimed at 800-plus horsepower and 615 lb-ft, street-legal with an optional two-year or 24,000-mile limited warranty. Both engines were open for order through Ford dealers and Ford Performance Parts from the fourth quarter of 2025.

One question stays open. Autoblog’s report does not say whether the over-1,200 horsepower figure will apply to any engine a customer can order, or only to this one-off concept, and the catalog Megazilla 2.0 target remains over 1,000.

This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Morning Overview editors prior to publication.

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