Pentastar V6 starts production

While the start date for the Jeep Grand Cherokee which is to be its first home is still reportedly months away, the Pentastar V6 has entered production in the Trenton (Michigan) Engine Plant. Sources say the plant has been operating slowly for quality reasons, producing mere dozens of the engines each week and sending them [...]

Mopar selling new race / off-road engines

Mopar will offer three aluminum versions based on the popular 6.1-liter block, all of which are up to 98 pounds lighter than the cast-iron production version found in the company’s SRT8® products.

The first all-aluminum option is a 6.1-liter HEMI block, a direct replacement for the factory production cast-iron 6.1-liter HEMI engine block. The second option [...]

Chrysler to build Fiat 500 engine in 2010

As reported this morning by WXYZ and repeated by Allpar, Chrysler will build Fiat’s “FIRE” (Fully Integrated Roboticized Engine) in Dundee, Michigan, starting in 2010, for use in the Fiat 500. The engine produces 100 hp at 6,750 rpm and 95 lb-ft of torque at 4,250 rpm; a turbocharged version is being developed. The engine [...]

Chrysler to invest $179 million in Dundee plant

Chrysler will invest $179 million in the Dundee, Michigan plant it formerly shared with Mitsubishi and Hyundai in the Global Engine Manufacturing Alliance which was dissolved earlier this year. The funding will be used to covert production to building Fiat’s 1.4-liter, four-cylinder engines. The plant is expected to produce about 250,000 engines each year and [...]

Chrysler plans for 400+ hp V6

By 2014, Chrysler could have a V6 engine pushing out over 400 horsepower, according to charts in the five year plan. A three-liter version of the Pentastar V6 with dual turbochargers is charted out in the plan at around 425 horsepower, the same as the old 426 Hemi V8 and similar to the current 6.1 [...]

Fiat man takes over Mopar Powertrain

Though powertrains have long been considered one of Chrysler’s strengths, as seen in the class-leading Neon 2.0 (when it arrived), Hemi V8, and Pentastar V6, a Fiat executive has now taken over Chrysler’s Powertrain Engineering division.
Paolo Ferrero was just named Senior Vice President of Chrysler Powertrain. He will report directly to CEO Sergio Marchionne, and will [...]