THE END OF AN ERA

Ford shuttered its elite Romeo Niche Line, and we documented the build of the final 760hp Predator engines.

- STEVE TURNER

Rain poured down as we walked briskly toward the side door of Ford’s Romeo Engine plant. Throughout the 2.2-million-square-foot facility, all was quiet at 6:30 a.m. It was damp and early, but we were on a mission to capture a historic moment. Crossing through the plant that began creating industrial hardware 55 years ago but blossomed into the home of modular engines way back in 1990, we entered a smaller building on the 268-acre campus.

Since 1996, this hallowed home of factory horsepower has served as the birthplace of many of the most iconic Ford engines to ever spread the shock towers of a Mustang. Where the main plant could crank out as many as 140 engines in an hour, this room is for factory hot-rodding. It is the Romeo Niche Line, where two-person teams of skilled builders utilized computer-aided tools to precisely construct the most powerful engines in the company’s internal combustion lineup.

It is a special place where builders earned their stripes to join the build team. Most are automotive enthusiasts, and all loved being part of something so special. It is probably one of the most unique, yet under-publicized, aspects of a giant corporation that still manages to create machines with potency and personality.

As we emerged from the cold, damp morning, it felt like home. Having visited this line several times in the past, the scene was familiar but slightly off. The Niche Line sign was gone from the door. The parts bins weren’t brimming with hardware, and the mood was bittersweet. That’s because, after 26 years, the Niche Line was grinding to a halt.