Chrysler Talks About Its New Pentastar V6 Workhorse Engine

While some people need vehicles with loads of power and torque, such as trucks for work or for play, and automotive enthusiasts may yearn for a big V-8 under the hood of their vehicle, most people want a more fuel-efficient V-6 engine. Chrysler has a new Pentastar 3.6-liter V6 engine that will be the replacement for the aging V-6s across the Chrysler Group's vehicle lineup. Going to a common engine across the entire Chrysler group line will help the company save money and eliminate V-6 engine component lists for different power plants.

The new 3.6 L V-6 engine will find a home under the hood of 13 different Chrysler Group models accounting for about 44% of Chrysler vehicles produced this year. Chrysler says that the engine will help the group meet looming CAFE regulations for fuel efficiency and provide impressive performance improvements over the outgoing V-6 engines.

The automotive manufacturing notes that performance will vary slightly depending on the vehicle application. Standard Pentastar 3.6-liter V6 power output is 300 hp and 260 pound-foot of torque. Those numbers are in line with power and torque output from some V-8 engines not too long ago. Despite having impressive power output, Chrysler says the engine will also be able to achieve around 20 mpg in the city and 30 mpg on highway.

Chrysler says that the performance figures for the engine represent a 30 to 40% improvement in power, a 10% improvement in torque, and a 15 to 20% improvement in fuel efficiency compared to its old V-6 engines. Chrysler also says that the engine is able to deliver its torque with 90% of its total output available from 1600 to 6400 RPM.

[via Chrysler]