By Brett Clanton / The Detroit News
AUBURN HILLS ? Casting aside fears that rising gas prices will steer consumers away from gas-guzzlers, Chrysler is developing an even larger version of its popular V-8 Hemi engine, according to industry analysts and company sources.
The move comes as General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and others are supersizing engines and threatening to outmuscle the current
340-horsepower Hemi, a major marketing and sales success for DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group."Chrysler has to do something or they'll be left behind," said John Wolkonwicz, a market analyst with Global Insight in Lexington, Mass.
The automaker is expected to build a higher-output, 6.1-liter Hemi to join the current 5.7-liter model, now available in Dodge pickups and SUVs as well as the Chrysler 300 Series sedan. As many as half of buyers choose the Hemi in those vehicles.
"Our industry sources tell us there will be a 6.1-liter Hemi," said Anthony Pratt, senior manager for global powertrain at J.D. Power and Associates.
Chrysler has begun putting the bigger Hemi in prototype models of the all-new 2005 Dodge Charger sedan, which is in test production in Brampton, Ontario, according to two company sources familiar with the project. The Charger is expected to reach showrooms next spring.
In the Charger, a bigger Hemi would provide more horsepower than the current 340-hp Hemi engine, Wolkonowicz said.
"They could probably get 375 or 380 out of it with no problem at all," he said, putting the engine in league with the classic Hemi engines of the 1950s and 1960s.
In trucks, the bigger Hemi also could increase low-end torque, which would improve towing capacity, he said.
Though the larger Hemi will likely get lower gas mileage than its predecessor, it may not be enough to deter interested buyers, Pratt said.
"All things said and done, I think power is more important to the typical American car buyer than fuel efficiency," he said.
Ford Motor Co. also is working on a higher-output V-8 engine, known internally as the Hurricane, with a 6.2-liter displacement and
350-horsepower. Currently, Ford's biggest V-8 engine is the 300-horsepower, 5.4-liter Triton V-8.Patrick '93 Cobra '83 LTD