Production of the FCA US Pentastar V-6 Engine Family Surpasses 5 Million

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May 27, 2015, 01:00 ET

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., May 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Pentastar V-6 engine family consists of three displacements: 3.6-liter, 3.2-liter and 3.0-liter
Pentastar engines contribute to numerous best-in-class benchmarks, ranging from fuel economy to driving range
Nearly half of all FCA US LLC produced vehicles sold during the first 4+ months of 2015 are equipped with Pentastar engines

Cementing its status as an FCA US LLC workhorse, total production of the Pentastar V-6 engine family surpassed the 5-million mark earlier this month.

First introduced in the 2011 Jeep® Grand Cherokee, the Pentastar V-6 is the most advanced six-cylinder engine in the history of FCA US, with an ideal integration of select technologies that deliver refinement, fuel efficiency and performance. Today, Pentastar V-6 engines are available in 14 vehicles from the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram brands.

Since the start of 2015, 47 percent of FCA US vehicles sold are equipped with a Pentastar V-6 engine.

"The success of the Pentastar V-6 engine family continues to be a testament to our powertrain engineering prowess," said Bob Lee, Vice President – Engine, Powertrain and Electrified Propulsion, and Systems Engineering, FCA – North America. "This engine delivers world-class performance in multiple displacements and vehicle applications around the globe. We're extremely proud of how this engine family has evolved to provide our customers with a wide range of performance capabilities."

The Pentastar V-6 engine family consists of three displacements: 3.6-liter; 3.2-liter (Jeep Cherokee) and 3.0-liter (Jeep Grand Cherokee, Jeep Wrangler and Chrysler 300 sold in China). Three FCA US facilities produce these engines:

Trenton Engine Complex, Trenton, Mich. (3.6-liter, 3.2-liter, 3.0-liter)
Saltillo South Engine Plant, Saltillo, Mexico (3.6-liter)
Mack Avenue Engine Plant, Detroit (3.6-liter, 3.2-liter)

Flexibility: A Pentastar Hallmark
In terms of character, the Pentastar V-6 can be mannerly, as demonstrated in the Chrysler Town & Country; sporty, as in the Dodge Challenger; or beastly, as in the rugged Jeep Wrangler and Ram 1500.

Other Pentastar V-6 engine applications for the 2015 model year are: Chrysler 200 mid-size sedan and 300 full-size sedan; Dodge Charger sport sedan, Grand Caravan minivan, Durango full-size SUV and Journey mid-size crossover; Jeep Cherokee and Grand Cherokee; and Ram Cargo Van and ProMaster full-size van.

Accounting for all its 2015 model year vehicle applications, Pentastar V-6 engines contribute to numerous best-in-class benchmarks:

Best-in-class standard V-6 horsepower (283; Ram ProMaster full-size van)
Best-in-class horsepower (283) and torque (260 lb.-ft./353 Nm), best-in-class V-6 fuel economy (26 mpg highway) and best-in-class V-6 driving range of up to 520 miles (Ram C/V Tradesman)
Best-in-class horsepower (295; Chrysler 200 mid-size sedan)
Best-in-class horsepower (283; Dodge Grand Caravan/Chrysler Town & Country minivans)
Best-in-class gasoline-powered V-6 driving range (600+ miles; Dodge Durango)
Best-in-class gasoline-powered V-6 driving range (600+ miles; Jeep Grand Cherokee)
Among full-size sedans, the 3.6-liter Pentastar powers the Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 to:

Best-in-class highway fuel economy (31 mpg with RWD, 27 mpg with AWD)
Unsurpassed combined fuel economy (23 mpg with RWD, 21 mpg with AWD)
Unsurpassed city fuel economy (19 mpg city RWD, 18 mpg AWD)

In addition, the 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 is a three-time winner of Ward's 10-Best Engines award (2011-2013).

The Pentastar V-6 architecture further distinguishes itself with flexibility. With little or no modification, it can accommodate longitudinal and transverse orientations; front-wheel-, rear-wheel-, all-wheel- and four-wheel-drive systems; 6-speed manual transmissions and 6-, 8- and 9-speed automatic transmissions.

All Pentastar engines feature a 60-degree, deep-skirt, die-cast-aluminum cylinder block with six-bolt main caps that provide optimal stiffness for NVH mitigation. Also contributing to NVH reduction are:

A structural windage tray to complement block stiffness
A structural aluminum oil pan
Direct-mounted alternator and A/C compressor, which increase stiffness
Select-fit pistons with polymer-graphite-coated piston skirts
"Silent chain" timing drive with inverted teeth for minimal sprocket NVH
Contoured composite cylinder-head covers
All Pentastar engines feature variable valve timing (VVT), which enhances fuel efficiency

Further enhancing the driving experience is the specially designed, glass-reinforced, nylon composite intake manifold, which benefits from low-rumble tuning.

The Pentastar family's defining design element is its exhaust manifold. The manifold is integrated with the cylinder head, which enables greater packaging efficiency.

The engine also features forged-steel connecting rods and piston-squirter jets, and its cam drive and valve-train components require no scheduled maintenance.

About FCA North America Powertrain
Rejuvenated when the Company was established in 2009, FCA US powertrain organization has intensified its efforts to develop engines that deliver superior performance, improved fuel economy, reliability and driving enjoyment. Since 2009, nearly half of Chrysler Group's total manufacturing outlay (more than $2 billion) has been directed toward powertrain projects.

About FCA US LLC
FCA US LLC is a North American automaker with a new name and a long history. Headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, FCA US is a member of the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (FCA) family of companies. FCA US designs, engineers, manufactures and sells vehicles under the Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram and FIAT brands as well as the SRT performance vehicle designation. The company also distributes the Alfa Romeo 4C model and Mopar products. FCA US is building upon the historic foundations of Chrysler, the innovative American automaker first established by Walter P. Chrysler in 1925; and Fiat, founded in Italy in 1899 by pioneering entrepreneurs, including Giovanni Agnelli.

FCA, the seventh-largest automaker in the world based on total annual vehicle sales, is an international automotive group. FCA is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "FCAU" and on the Mercato Telematico Azionario under the symbol "FCA."

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