Here is the owners manual for my car: http://www.fordservicecontent.com/Ford_Content/Catalog/owner... On page 259, under the heading "Fail-Safe Cooling".

  If the engine reaches a preset
  over-temperature condition, the engine
  automatically switches to alternating
  cylinder operation. Each disabled cylinder
  acts as an air pump and cools the engine.
  When this occurs, your vehicle still
  operates, however:
  • Engine power is limited.
  • The air conditioning system turns off.
  Continued operation increases the engine
  temperature, causing the engine to
  completely shut down. Your steering and
  braking effort increases in this situation.

Ford has been doing this for decades (I think I saw it mentioned in the docs for EEC IV.) It turns off fuel for a cylinder here and there intending to pump heat out of the engine (a cylinder with no fuel is an air pump.)

It doesn't really let you operate with no coolant. Might get you farther before you die if you push it.

You are correct, that the manual doesn't specifically say it can operate without coolant (now that I re-read it). What it does is active fail safe mode, then will shut the engine off once the temperature goes above another (higher) threshold. So I guess if coolant is completely gone (instead of just low), you may be able to drive for a few minutes then be shut down for a while before driving again (the main purpose is to give you enough time to find a safe spot to stop).