Stellantis Engineers a Hurricane

Stellantis engineers unveil an all-new, clean-sheet 3.0L twin-turbo inline 6-cyl. designed to carry the company from internal combustion to electrification in the coming decade.

“As Stellantis aims to become the U.S. leader in electrification, with a 50% battery-electric vehicle sales mix by 2030, internal-combustion engines will play a key role in our portfolio for years to come and we owe it to our customers and the environment to provide the cleanest, most-efficient propulsion possible,” says Micky Bly, head of Propulsion Systems at Stellantis.

Dubbed Hurricane, the 3.0L twin-turbocharged inline 6-cyl. is expected to produce more than 400 hp and 450 lb.-ft. (610 Nm) of torque in Standard Output (SO), and more than 500 hp and 475 lb.-ft. (644 Nm) in High Output (HO), the company says.

The engines already are in production at the Saltillo North Engine Plant in Mexico that had built the 4-cyl. Tigershark. The engine shares some commonalities such as valvetrain, cylinder spacing and bore and stroke with the company’s current 2.0L 4-cyl.

Pilot production began in July with full production under way last November, Bly says. The plant is capable of producing 250,000 engines annually.

The engines are penciled in as the primary powerplants “of the future in North America for vehicles using the STLA Large and STLA Frame platforms,” the company says in a press release.

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The company says the engines are up to 15% more fuel-efficient than the V-8s they’ll replace. Bly specifies the SO engine (pictured, inset), at 133 hp/L, produces 15% less CO2 than its larger-displacement competitors, while the HO at 166 hp/L is 13% cleaner. Both are equipped with starter-motor-driven stop/start.

Bly notes the new engines are designed with electrification in mind and are capable for use in mild hybrid, plug-in hybrid or traditional hybrid powertrains.