Stellantis plans, Euro 7 U-turn suggest an ICE revival
Two months ago, the car world appeared set to go all-electric within a decade. Now, following a fortnight of shock changes, much of that plan appears to have gone up in smoke and ICE is already bouncing back. Judging by some startling new revelations, Dodge and its sister badges now already appear to be flying in the face of electric motoring wisdom.
Against all expectation, Stellantis recently revealed an all-new 3-liter biturbo straight six internal combustion engine. Now it seems that the Hurricane lump is not the only ICE engine to step out of the Stellantis shadows to defy Dodge and its sister brands’ alleged electric shift. Reading between the lines it is increasingly evident that combustion engines may very well be here to stay after all.
EVs Now Under Increasing Pressure
On the back of several other problems facing EVs on top of sales slipping in the wrong direction as early adopters alarmingly now appear to be only adopters, the EU last week turned its back on draconian Euro 7 regulations supposed to nail the ICE coffin closed for good. Now European carmakers need only meet current emissions laws subtly massaged to encourage the future use of green fuels.
That news came shortly before Stellantis propulsion boss Mickly Bly revealed that far from becoming extinct, Dodge and its sibling brands will indeed introduce several additional new ICE engines in the coming years. Much to the delight of petrol heads the world over, Bly even went into quite some detail about what’s coming…
2-Litre ICE 4-Pot version of Hurricane I6
First off, Bly confirmed that the new Hurricane six already on sale in some Jeep models and coming soon to the next Dodge Challenger, has potential well beyond its current 500-plus horsepower. Then he went on to hint that an all-new 2-liter inline four, effectively the 3-litre Hurricane straight six with two pots lopped off, will soon join its full-sized sibling.
Bly also confirmed the current Pentastar V6, already confirmed as the generator for the next RAM 1500 hybrid in the US, will still be sold for a while to come. He went on to also describe two new ‘low-displacement and big diesels’. Fiat’s 2-litre four-cylinder MultiJet is a possibility. As are oil-burning versions the Hurricane straight-six and its 4-pot sibling.
A Euro ICE 3-Cylinder For US Entry Level?
In perhaps the biggest surprise, Bly suggested that a European three-cylinder engine for future US economy models. Scratching a little, Peugeot-Citroen’s multiple Engine of the Year aspirated and up to 110 kW turbo 1.2-liter 3-cylinder PureTech ICE engines have a long down-sizing pedigree. PureTech is a ready 3-pot solution for US introduction.
So, while Stellantis continues to fly the EV hype kite along with the rest of the auto industry, it is clear that it still has great combustion engine plans that stretch well beyond ICE cut-off deadlines under its sleeve. And with Europe’s 2030 ICE ban now in the can, who knows how significant this move back to combustion engines really is? Time certainly will tell! – Michele Lupini
