Another Hurricane Four on the way?

The Hurricane Six was reportedly created using the combustion chamber from the 2.0 liter GME engine—essentially creating a new block around that chamber. However, in a recent interview, Micky Bly, head of Stellantis propulsion, said that the Hurricane will spawn a new 2.0 liter four-cylinder engine.

Given there is already a 2.0 four-cylinder using similar combustion chambers, one may wonder what the point is. From any writer other than Automotive News’ Richard Truett, one would think it was a mistake.

There is one possibility. The STLA Medium cars currently being prepared for release next year, eventually to replace the Compass, Cherokee, and other front-drive-based vehicles, were meant to have a 1.6 liter engine. The Peugeot design is quite powerful, especially for its size, but it’s possible they wanted more—or lower cost, e.g. a larger displacement engine without a hybrid setup. If the GME 2.0 is too large to fit under STLA Medium hoods, the company might adopt tricks from their newly developed in-line six-cylinder to shrink it down.

Another possibility is that the Hurricane Six gains part of its power through modifications to the original GME design, and a variant of the existing 2.0 will use those changes to bolster performance.

Of course, it could all be a mistake after all.

David Zatz

David Zatz started what was to become the world’s biggest, most comprehensive Mopar site in 1994 as he pursued a career in organizational research and change. After a chemo-induced break, during which he wrote car books covering Vipers, minivans, and Jeeps, he returned with Patrick Rall to create StellPower.com for daily news, and to set up MoTales for mo’ tales.

David Zatz has around 30 years of experience in covering Chrysler/Mopar news and history, and most recently wrote Century of Chrysler, a 100-year retrospective on the Chrysler marque.