European Ford service literature refers to it as the Taunus In-Line engine (hence the TL codenames).

Early Pinto engines suffered from excessive cam and follower wear, this was later addressed by nitriding the cam lobes and followers, and the fitment of a spray bar, which sprayed oil directly at the camshaft.

It was produced in two compression ratio versions: The fuel was supplied by the Motorcraft single-barrel (1V) carburetor in the early models (until April 1979), and Motorcraft VV ("variable venturi") carburetor for the vehicles built after April 1979.

The TL16L had a compression ratio of 8.2:1 and developed 48–51 kW (64–68 hp) of power and 111–113 N⋅m (82–83 lb⋅ft) of torque depending on the carburetor and application.

Applications: From the beginning of the production run, the 1.6 L (1,593 cc) had a special, 'sporty' version which featured: With such an improvement package, the engine produced 66 kW (89 hp) of power and 125 N⋅m (92 lb⋅ft) of torque.

One was used on the 1970–1982 Ford Taunus export version to Sweden — fitted with the Weber DGAV 32/32 carburetor and compression ratio lowered to 8.2:1 to meet the rigorous emission specifications; it delivered 64 kW (86 hp) of power and 140 N⋅m (103 lb⋅ft) of torque.

With modified induction and Motorcraft 1V carburetor, it produced 57 kW (76 hp) of power and 156 N⋅m (115 lb⋅ft) of torque available at only 2800 rpm.

This engine used different carburetor models across the years: The engine produced 74 kW (99 hp) of power and 156 N⋅m (115 lb⋅ft) of torque, though a few models with a higher output were produced (for example an 81 kW (109 hp) version used in 1976 Ford Escort RS2000).

Applications: The injected 2.0 L used the Ford EEC-IV engine control system which brought the output up to 85 kW (114 hp) of power and 160 N⋅m (118 lb⋅ft)[1] of torque, although much of this increased performance can be attributed to the improved design of the EFI variants cylinder head.

Applications: In the beginning of the 1980s, Cosworth developed a 16-valve performance head conversion for the Pinto engine.

The engine is therefore based on a modified Pinto block topped with the Cosworth-developed alloy head and Garrett turbo.

The European version did find its way into North America however in the Mercury Capri, which was a captive import from Ford of Europe's factories in Germany.

Lack of dealership and owner training resulted in many stuck turbochargers and other maintenance problems.

A stroked by 7 mm (0.28 in) version of the 2.3 OHC Ford Ranger engine appeared in 1998 yielding 2504 cc.

In addition to the longer stroke, it used higher-flow cylinder heads utilizing narrower 7 mm (0.28 in) valve stems.

It was replaced in 2001 by the Mazda-derived Duratec 23, but Ford Power Products continues to sell this engine as the LRG-425.