The engine would be designed to compete at the Le Mans 24 Hours, deliver very high torque from low RPM as well as high-revving power, would be scalable for power growth well beyond a "normal duty" Ford engine, and would only use a component from other Ford projects if it made sense and didn't compromise the design.

The AML V12 is A365-T6 aluminium, features a deep-skirt six-bolt main block, thin-wall press-in liners and directly mounts nearly all of its drive accessories.

It features 3.0mm-larger main bearings, a bank-to-bank offset approximately 15mm less than the V6, and has a completely different casting design including a precision water jacket.

The Duratec V6s are A319 cast aluminium, the AML V12s are A365-T6 cast aluminium with unique combustion chambers, a higher compression ratio, a precision water jacket and unique intake ports (one of the design features that significantly improved low-end torque while maintaining high-end power).

[10] The engine also revs to a maximum of 11,100 rpm, and has a power density making 114.8 kW (156.1 PS; 153.9 hp) per litre.