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Downsizing is inevitable. Even auto manufacturers that sell mostly performance and luxury vehicles are not immune to this trend. Jeep is one of those manufacturers and it looks like the brand’s legendary V8 is nearing the end of its life. That’s according to a new report, based on disclosures made by Jeep executives.
During the international launch of the new Grand Cherokee 4Xe plug-in hybrid, Jeff Ellsworth, Jeep’s head of global product marketing, was asked by reporters about the future of the V8. He said Car Guide that electrification is likely the way forward, which basically means the eight-cylinder engine will be discontinued at some point.
“I’m not one to say yes or no, but there’s no doubt – and this isn’t just Jeep but in general – about what we can do with twin-turbo and with electrification now,” Ellsworth said when asked about what the V8 days were like. numbered. “As much as we love [the V8]. There is no substitute for displacement, but there is technology out there that can make it happen. We still stock the V8 in certain markets around the world, and in the United States in particular, but the reality is that plug-in hybrids have become a more premium powertrain.”
Jeep’s latest inline-six twin-turbo Hurricane engine serves as an excellent hint of the brand’s future. The 3.0-liter unit is available with two power outputs – with “over” 400 horsepower (294 kilowatts) and 450 pound-feet (610 Newton-meters) of torque in standard form and up to 500 hp (368 kW) and 575 lb-ft ( 780 Nm) in the guise of High Output. It’s more than some versions of the Jeep’s 6.4-liter V8, but it still falls short of the output of the supercharged 6.2-liter V8.
Does any of that mean the next-generation Grand Cherokee SRT could embrace electrification? Ellsworth isn’t ready to give firm confirmation yet, though this seems likely now. “I’m not one to divulge that. But in the end, electrification is the way forward. But at the moment we have nothing to confirm.”
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