In an unusual move, Ford Motor Co. is phasing out its current 2.0-liter EcoBoost engine after just four model years.

Ford said today it is replacing the engine with a new 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder early next year beginning with the redesigned 2015 Edge. The current engine, which debuted in the 2011 Edge, will be gradually replaced in other vehicles.

The last engine in a Ford vehicle with such a short life was the 3.9-liter V-8 in the retro-styled 2002-05 Thunderbird.

Most engines have a life span of at least 10 years.

Scott Makowski, chief engineer for Ford’s large inline four-cylinder engines, said rapid improvements in engine technology led to the demise of the current 2.0, which has the highest production of Ford’s EcoBoost engine family.

The current 2.0 is offered in at least a dozen vehicles globally, such as Fusion, Focus ST, Edge, Escape, Explorer, Taurus, Lincoln MKZ and MKC in the North America, the Ford Falcon in Australia, and European cars such as the Mondeo and S-Max people mover.

The new 2.0 shares almost no parts with the current engine. It will deliver a better combination of fuel economy and power, Makowski said.

EcoBoost engines -- which feature direct fuel injection, turbocharging and variable cam timing -- have been criticized for delivering either power or fuel economy, but not both, in larger vehicles such as the Explorer and Edge.