The inline-six, a traditional engine design famous for sturdiness, gas effectivity and smoothness, will return to the Dodge and Jeep lineups this 12 months.
Stellantis mentioned Friday its new Hurricane 3.0-liter twin-turbo six-cylinder engine — designed and engineered from a clear slate — matches front-engine, rear-wheel-drive autos such because the Jeep Wrangler and Grand Cherokee, Ram pickups and the Dodge Durango SUV.
The corporate didn’t determine particular autos the brand new engine will seem in. Availability will likely be introduced when 2023 fashions debut.
The brand new engine might be headed first to the Jeep model. On Thursday, a photograph of the engine appeared on the web configurator for the Grand Wagoneer, exhibiting the dual turbo six listed as a $2,000 possibility. The picture was eliminated later Thursday.
The Hurricane will likely be provided in two variations, a typical output and a excessive output.
The inline-six was dropped from Stellantis’ U.S. lineup on the finish of the 2006 mannequin 12 months, when Jeep scrapped the legendary — however historic — 4.0-liter straight-six and changed it with the then-new 3.8-liter Pentastar V-6.
Micky Bly, the corporate’s head of propulsion techniques, advised reporters the brand new engine will assist Stellantis scale back carbon dioxide output as a part of a transition to electrical autos. Stellantis, he mentioned, desires EVs to account for half of its U.S. gross sales by the top of the last decade.
Bly mentioned the twin overhead cam, aluminum block sixes scale back CO2 output as a lot as 15 % in contrast with comparable or bigger engines within the Stellantis lineup. That would come with the three.8-liter V-6 engine. The brand new engines may even enhance gas economic system about 15 % over the engines they change, though Stellantis didn’t determine which of them these are.
“Inner combustion engines will play a key function for years to come back, and we owe it to our clients and the surroundings to supply the cleanest, best propulsion attainable,” Bly mentioned.
The usual-output six is predicted to provide greater than 400 hp, whereas the high-output model will make greater than 500 hp. The torque rankings are 450 pound-feet for the usual engine and 475 pound-feet for the excessive output motor. These rankings surpass these of the 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 provided in varied Jeep and Ram autos. That motor makes 357 hp and 390 pound-feet of torque. The V-6 engine is rated at 293 hp and 260 pound-feet of torque.
The V-8-like energy of the brand new sixes is derived partly from a slew of high-tech options. Every turbo, for example, powers three cylinders, growing response. The dual overhead cams have phasers that alter the opening occasions of the 24 valves, and a direct gas injection system blasts gas into every cylinder at greater than 5,000 kilos per sq. inch.
The engine makes use of spray-in cylinder liners to cut back weight and improve sturdiness — the identical course of Nissan makes use of on the GT-R.
Stellantis says the Hurricane engines do not change the venerable Hemi V-8 however will likely be provided together with it. One engine the Hurricane may change, nevertheless, is the light-duty 3.0-liter V-6 diesel, which makes 260 hp and 480 pound-feet of torque and is used within the Jeep Wrangler and Ram vehicles. The Hurricane provides comparable energy however could be cheaper to provide than the diesel.
Stellantis is manufacturing the Hurricane sixes at a plant in Saltillo, Mexico, with an annual capability of 250,000 engines per 12 months. Stellantis is the third automaker lately to return to an inline structure for a brand new six-cylinder. Mercedes-Benz launched a brand new inline-six in 2016, whereas Normal Motors added an inline six-cylinder diesel to the choices record of light-duty pickups and SUVs in 2020.
Ford pioneered twin-turbo six-cylinder engines in its pickups greater than a decade in the past with the three.5-liter EcoBoost V-6. It rapidly grew to become the top-selling motor within the F-150.