Future Maserati Models Could use Dodge’s Pentastar

by Patrick Rall

The Maserati GranTurismo and Quattroporte are currently powered by Ferrari V8s but if rumors prove to be true – the next generation of these models could feature the same Pentastar 3.6L V6 used in almost every current Dodge brand product.  The key difference is that when the Pentastar finds its way under the hood of these Italian exotics it may pack a pair of turbos – pushing the output of the Pentastar well beyond the numbers seen in the Dodge lineup.

While a twin turbo version of Chrysler’s Pentastar V6 serving as
a proper engine for an Italian supercar may seem farfetched, I recently
had a chance to chat with an insider with some interesting
information.  My source told me that since Chrysler engineers finished
the 3.6L Pentastar V6 pre-production testing procedures prior to hitting
the showroom, that the mighty little motor under the hood of the Dodge
Avenger, Charger, Challenger, Durango, Journey and Grand Caravan has
undergone intensive high performance testing.  He explained that the
Pentastar has been tested in a variety of forms, all making well over
the factory output of any current Chrysler Group models, most
importantly and interestingly, including a twin turbocharged variant.

The
informant would not go into too much detail, but he did comment that
the twin turbo Pentastar has made enough power to easily overpower the
Ford EcoBoost found in the Taurus SHO.  In that application, the
EcoBoost makes 365hp and when I pushed the source a little more, he
suggested that the 400 horsepower range is not out of the question. 
However, when this information was offered to me, the rumors of the next
Maserati models featuring twin turbo Chrysler V6 engines were not yet
public, so the news of a boosted Pentastar seemed a bit odd.  Now that
these Maserati rumors have surfaced, the discussion of a twin
turbocharged Pentastar being tested seems to make a tremendous amount
more sense, while at the same time working to support these Maserati
rumors.

The 3.6L Pentastar V6 makes between 283 and 305
horsepower in the Dodge lineup, depending on the model in which it is
fitted, so getting 400hp out of this compact engine shouldn’t be too
much effort for the engineers at Chrysler.  Like the Ford EcoBoost 3.5L
V6, running a low-boost twin turbo setup with the other modern engine
technology already included on the Pentastar V6 should push the powerful
Chrysler V6 into or past the power range of the Ford EcoBoost.  That is
all well and good, but if these Maserati rumors prove to be true, the
twin turbocharged Pentastar will need to compete with much more powerful
models than the likes of the Ford Taurus SHO. And once Chrysler has
designed this high performance variant of the popular new engine – how
long will it be before this engine ends up under the hood of an
American-sold Dodge vehicle?