The 3.0-liter Hurricane will be offered initially in two variants, standard and high output (HO). Inherently well balanced, inline-sixes are about the smoothest configuration you can build and should be lighter than competitors. However, unlike the V6 Fords, Stellantis has chosen an inline layout. The new engine is a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter six-cylinder engine, which sounds a lot like the EcoBoost engines that Ford launched in 2010. If Stellantis is going to rely on sales of those big trucks and SUVs to generate the tens of billions of dollars they plan to spend transitioning to electric without paying major fines, they’ll need much more efficient powertrains like the Hurricane. Consumers won’t mind paying less at the pump, either. In 2020, Stellantis averaged just 21.3 mpg over its entire fleet, compared to the industry average of 25.4 and 29.1 mpg for leader Honda. Those hard-core Hemis provide plenty of acceleration, payload and towing capacity, but they also leave Stellantis with the lowest corporate average fuel economy of any major automaker in the U.S. Today, Stellantis’ most popular and highest-profit vehicles, like Ram pickups and burly Jeep SUVs, rely on Beefy Hemi V8s. In the coming months, it will debut the Hurricane: an all-new 3.0-liter, twin-turbocharged inline-six-cylinder engine that can produce 500+ horsepower. With the recognition that there is still going to be a significant market for ICEs, especially in larger vehicles well into the 2030s, Stellantis (formerly Fiat Chrysler Automobiles) has just announced what may well be its last major engine program. But a 50% share of EVs still leaves half the market for ICEs and those engines still need to get cleaner and, as everybody filling their tanks at the moment can attest, more efficient. With many automakers targeting a 50% or more market share for electric vehicles in North America by 2030, you might think that work on internal combustion engines (ICE) was dead. While we don’t know for sure that the big Grand Wagoneer will get Stellantis’ new Hurricane engine, it’s one of Stellantis’ largest and thirstiest vehicles, and a perfect home for the efficient new twin-turbo six-cylinder engine family.
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