The Detroit carmaker announced last Friday that its unveiling the Pentastar V6 engine at the company’s Trenton Engine Assembly Plant in Michigan. Introduced in 2010 as the standard engine for the 2010 Jeep Grand Cherokee, the six cylinder engine features a 60 degree architecture and according to the company is the most advanced six cylinder engine ever created by Chrysler.
“The Pentastar engine is a cornerstone of Chrysler Group’s effort to reinvent its business model with world class quality products. This award-winning engine is proof that the Company is transforming its products to meet the needs of our customers. To build one million of anything, and in an impressively short amount of time, is a significant achievement. But to do it with such a high degree of quality is a testament to our skilled and dedicated workforce at both Trenton South and Saltillo engine plants,” said Brian Harlow, Vice President for Chrysler and Head of Powertrain Manufacturing.
Designed to replace all Chrysler’s previous six cylinder engines, from the 2.7-liter to the 4.0-liter, the new engine is more fuel efficient and it also allowed the Detroit carmaker significantly cut production costs and improve building process, because the Pentastar unit only features 32 major components, compared to 189 on previous engines. For example, 21 upper intakes and 11 lower intakes have been replaced by only four assemblies and 14 camshaft variations have been replaced by just four, while the entire engine’s lightweight building is a major evolution for Chrysler (94 lbs lighter than the 3.7-liter on the Grand Cherokee and 42 lbs lighter than the 3.5-liter on the Chrysler 300).
After the Grand Cherokee introduction, the engine is now available on 11 other models from Chrysler (200, 300 and Town and Country), Dodge (Avenger, Caravan, Challenger, Durango, Charger and Journey) and the Jeep Wrangler. For the new Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger, it’s actually the only engine available with Chrysler’s new eight speed automatic transmission.
The 3.6-liter engine delivers different power outputs, depending on the model it is used on. The least powerful version equips front wheel drive models and delivers 283 hp, while the most powerful version produces 305 hp and powers the Dodge Challenger sports car.
As a confirmation of the engine’s performance, it was named on the “10 Best Engines” by Ward’s Automotive magazine and this rewarded the efforts of the 1,300 workers building the engine at Trenton South and Saltillo, Mexico.