The Ford Zeta project of the late 1980s was intended to replace Ford Motor Company's two older families of small I4 engines, the SOHC Pinto and CVH. It was designed to share some parts with other Ford engine developments at the time, including the smaller Sigma I4 and Duratec V6. This engine shares its bore and stroke dimensions with the 2-valve CVH engine. Ford Power Products sells the Zeta in 1.8 L and 2.0 L versions as the MVH.

Production of the engines, now named Zetec, began at Ford's Bridgend plant in South Wales in September of 1991, with later production added at Cologne, Germany in 1992 and Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico, in 1993. The first Zetecs displaced 1.8 L, with a 2.0 L version arriving quickly afterwards. The final Zeta Zetec was produced on December 10, 2004 at the Bridgend factory with over 3,500,000 built at that location.

The engine fits the Ford T9 , Cd4E and MTX-75 gearboxes using the same bell bolt pattern as the Crossflow.

See also

• Ford Zetec engine
• Article on the production of the last Zeta