Chrysler: The Powertrain Plans

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

One of Chrysler’s major problems in the powertrain department is a mass of V6 engines of varying ages and displacements. The lack of interchangeability between engines contributes to Chrysler’s unprofitability, and the advanced age of some hurts overall fuel efficiency considerably. The debut of a brand-new Pentastar V6, arriving with next year’s Grand Cherokee, will change all that. The 280 hp, 260 lb-ft engine will replace all of Chrysler’s V6s, and handily gives Fiat their only modern V6. Single and twin-turbo versions are being considered. Meanwhile V8s aren’t going away, with 5.7 and 6.4 liter versions planned.

The World Engines of 1.8, 2.0 and 2.4 liter displacement will continue, also providing Fiat with a lower-cost alternative to its more advanced but more expensive engines. Fiat does plan on introducing its Multiair technology as well as direct injection to the workhorse World Engine family, although no time frame has been given for such a development.

Fiat will provide its Multiair 1.4 liter “Fire” engine, although the only known application is the 500. A turbocharged 1.4 will arrive in 2011 with the 500 Abarth, and potentially thereafter in Fiat-based Dodge and Chrysler B-segment (Yaris/Fit) hatchbacks, planned for 2012. The Fire family is unlikely to be used outside of the B-segment for the simple reason that in non-turbocharged form, the engine produces only 100 hp and 92 lb-ft. Fiat’s JTD diesel engines in 1.6 to 2.0 displacement are mentioned in the presentation, but they seem unlikely candidates for powering Wrangler, the only vehicle confirmed with a diesel option. Dual clutch transmissions will debut with the refreshed Sebring in Q4 2010.

By far the biggest question surrounding Chrysler’s powertrain plans is in regards to electrification and hybrids. Fiat brings little to no expertise to the table in this area, and Chrysler’s ENVI vaporware wasn’t mentioned once in the whole 7 hour presentation. Marchionne dismissed the idea of consumer-market hybrids or EV’s in the short term, calling electrical storage technology “unready.” Only a Fiat Doblo-based commercial EV is on the radar. If Chrysler ever gets past its short-term issues, it hopes to have improved its fleet efficiency by 2014 through proliferation of Fiat’s technology and the use of more four-cylinder engines. If they begin thinking about an IPO though, look for talk of futuretech to come back around again, as investors will want more long-term upside than is currently on offer.

Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • AdamYYZ AdamYYZ on Nov 07, 2009

    I've been working on this engine's water pump/front engine cover assembly. Production is about to begin on it shortly. For what its worth, Chrysler have been watching over us closely and have very high expectations for quality control. Tolerances are held very tight. Probably good signs for the future. I can't help but wish them well since the Chrysler job kept me employed during the recessions darkest days.

  • SV SV on Nov 10, 2009

    The Phoenix looks very promising, too bad there aren't any decent cars to put it in yet (bar the new Grand Cherokee and, possibly, the new Charger/300) My feeling with the differences between Hyundai and Chrysler 2.4 engines is that they're more to do with how the engines are installed in the car (better mounts, more insulation in the Sonata maybe?) than the engines themselves but I probably don't really know what I'm talking about.

  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
  • Jalop1991 what, no Turbo trim?
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