FCA inline-six rumored to be real, headed for Jeep Wagoneer
#1
FCA inline-six rumored to be real, headed for Jeep Wagoneer
Might serve most FCA brands, and debut in Wagoneer or Grand Cherokee
In September, Allpar reported that that clues being dropped at Fiat-Chrysler headquarters, in the carmaker's factories, and on engineer résumés pointed to the development of an inline six-cylinder engine. The site has just proclaimed the rumor is reality, writing that the straight-six, "turbocharged to meet or beat 5.7 Hemi power ratings, with a smoother torque curve, is on the way." The motor's first outing is expected to be either the next-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee, debuting perhaps next year, or the Jeep Wagoneer, debuting in 2020 or 2021.
"Tornado" is the purported codename for the power plant said to be just under three liters in displacement, expanding the family begun with the Global Medium Engine 2.0-liter turbo codenamed Hurricane. Engine bay constraints and a long use horizon mean engineers won't simply add two more cylinders to the GME, however. Allpar says the brief is to keep the Tornado GME-T6 — the alphanumeric for "turbocharged six" — no more than three inches longer than the Tigershark 2.4-liter four-cylinder. That means "major design changes" that could include a space-saving head, more closely spaced cylinders, and no cylinder liners. An FCA division called Comau could be called on for its "SmartSpray" plasma lining technology.
Allpar muses that the standard version of the engine for Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram could get a single twin-scroll turbocharger. Performance trims for Alfa Romeo and Maserati could get different heads and maybe twin turbos, an SRT version might also get both those tweaks. History shows that the Italian versions would make changes to the block, as well. Even so, the Tornado would be less expensive than any Ferrari-supplied V6.
A straight-six would put FCA in company with current adopters BMW and Mercedes-Benz, future users like Jaguar, and perhaps Aston Martin. The engine would span the widest range of use cases in the U.S. carmaker's portfolio, though. Potential applications include being a base engine for Ram trucks, serving double duty as a base engine and 5.7-liter Hemi replacement for the Dodge Charger and Challenger, working in the high-end Jeeps, and as a properly hot trim — with Ferrari-designed heads — in the luxury Italian sports cars. The Alfa Romeo Giulia begs for just such motivation to fill the gap between the 280-hp, $42,695 Ti Sport RWD and the 505-hp, $73,700 Giulia Quadrifoglio RWD. And a twin-turbo inline-six in a Maserati Alfieri would stack up nicely with the Germans.
Said to be undergoing durability testing now, we probably have to wait a bit longer for more official information.
"Tornado" is the purported codename for the power plant said to be just under three liters in displacement, expanding the family begun with the Global Medium Engine 2.0-liter turbo codenamed Hurricane. Engine bay constraints and a long use horizon mean engineers won't simply add two more cylinders to the GME, however. Allpar says the brief is to keep the Tornado GME-T6 — the alphanumeric for "turbocharged six" — no more than three inches longer than the Tigershark 2.4-liter four-cylinder. That means "major design changes" that could include a space-saving head, more closely spaced cylinders, and no cylinder liners. An FCA division called Comau could be called on for its "SmartSpray" plasma lining technology.
Allpar muses that the standard version of the engine for Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram could get a single twin-scroll turbocharger. Performance trims for Alfa Romeo and Maserati could get different heads and maybe twin turbos, an SRT version might also get both those tweaks. History shows that the Italian versions would make changes to the block, as well. Even so, the Tornado would be less expensive than any Ferrari-supplied V6.
A straight-six would put FCA in company with current adopters BMW and Mercedes-Benz, future users like Jaguar, and perhaps Aston Martin. The engine would span the widest range of use cases in the U.S. carmaker's portfolio, though. Potential applications include being a base engine for Ram trucks, serving double duty as a base engine and 5.7-liter Hemi replacement for the Dodge Charger and Challenger, working in the high-end Jeeps, and as a properly hot trim — with Ferrari-designed heads — in the luxury Italian sports cars. The Alfa Romeo Giulia begs for just such motivation to fill the gap between the 280-hp, $42,695 Ti Sport RWD and the 505-hp, $73,700 Giulia Quadrifoglio RWD. And a twin-turbo inline-six in a Maserati Alfieri would stack up nicely with the Germans.
Said to be undergoing durability testing now, we probably have to wait a bit longer for more official information.
#3
Marketing is interesting, it basically pushed everything to FWD and 4 cyl, and then added turbocharging. I think people are very used to the vibration and noise today. Imagine how they're gonna feel with RWD and an I-6. Especially when they've been taught that even 100k cars have V6's in them--that's an odd number on each cyl. bank.
edit: p.s I would not consider BMW to be an adopter of the inline 6, it was their standard for a very long time. Only recently did they bet the farm on 4 cyl. turbo and some FWD based cars.
Last edited by Johnhav430; 12-21-18 at 08:27 AM.
#6
The site has just proclaimed the rumor is reality, writing that the straight-six, "turbocharged to meet or beat 5.7 Hemi power ratings, with a smoother torque curve, is on the way." The motor's first outing is expected to be either the next-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee, debuting perhaps next year, or the Jeep Wagoneer, debuting in 2020 or 2021.
#7
Really the only drawback is that they tend to be too long to mount transverse. Well no, that's not actually a downside, it just guarantees that the engine has to be installed facing the right direction.
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#8
Agreed for sure. I've been driving them exclusively for more than 2 decades, and they were the gold standard of straight sixes for decades before I discovered them. Just wonderful engines. Their 4-bangers are fine, but I'd never buy one.
Really the only drawback is that they tend to be too long to mount transverse. Well no, that's not actually a downside, it just guarantees that the engine has to be installed facing the right direction.
Really the only drawback is that they tend to be too long to mount transverse. Well no, that's not actually a downside, it just guarantees that the engine has to be installed facing the right direction.
I can only remember one in-line, transverse-mounted six ever sold in the American market (you might remember it yourself).....the Suzuki Leganza mid-size sedan, which was actually a cousin of the Korean-market Daewoo Magnus. Not surprisingly, it had a very small 2.5L displacement and small cylinder-bores to be able to fit in that space.
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