Jeep’s Wrangler is a super-capable off-roader.
Unfortunately, the its on-road cruising ability is severely hampered by a range of rather antiquated drivetrains - especially its 3.8 V6 petrol engine.
Fortunately, change is now (at last) on the cards for the Wrangler engine line-up thanks to Chrysler’s sophisticated (by Wrangler standards) 3.6 Penatstar V6.
Fiat boss Sergio Marchionne announced the drivetrain upgrade while unpacking Chrysler’s third-quarter financial results on Monday.
CONTEMPORARY TECH
The new engine may be smaller by 200cc than the 3.8 V6 it will replace yet has dual-overhead camshafts with independent cam phasing – a quantum leap in technology from the current Wrangler V6’s pushrod valves.
Interestingly, for an off-road application such as the Wrangler, the Pentastar V6 is radically oversquare in terms of internal architecture. It has a cylinder bore of 96mm and a stroke of 83mm, enabling a 7200rpm maximum crank speed.
Statistically, the new V6 will produce 209kW and 353Nm, improvements of 33 and 11% over the current 3.8 engine. Fuel consumption is reduced by 11%.
Jeep is expected to finish technical validation of its the Pentastar Wrangler V6 towards the end of 2011 and it should be in showrooms in 2012.
Unfortunately, the its on-road cruising ability is severely hampered by a range of rather antiquated drivetrains - especially its 3.8 V6 petrol engine.
Fortunately, change is now (at last) on the cards for the Wrangler engine line-up thanks to Chrysler’s sophisticated (by Wrangler standards) 3.6 Penatstar V6.
Fiat boss Sergio Marchionne announced the drivetrain upgrade while unpacking Chrysler’s third-quarter financial results on Monday.
CONTEMPORARY TECH
The new engine may be smaller by 200cc than the 3.8 V6 it will replace yet has dual-overhead camshafts with independent cam phasing – a quantum leap in technology from the current Wrangler V6’s pushrod valves.
Interestingly, for an off-road application such as the Wrangler, the Pentastar V6 is radically oversquare in terms of internal architecture. It has a cylinder bore of 96mm and a stroke of 83mm, enabling a 7200rpm maximum crank speed.
Statistically, the new V6 will produce 209kW and 353Nm, improvements of 33 and 11% over the current 3.8 engine. Fuel consumption is reduced by 11%.
Jeep is expected to finish technical validation of its the Pentastar Wrangler V6 towards the end of 2011 and it should be in showrooms in 2012.