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The Chrysler Group's new Pentastar V6 gasoline engine will either replace current six-cylinder units or be introduced for the first time on a total of 13 vehicles across the Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep range by 2013, the company announced this week.

The 3.6-liter V6 unit will be offered with different levels of output, the most powerful [for now] iteration being the one fitted on the upcoming 2011 Dodge Challenger, which will be rated at 305 bhp at 6,350 rpm and 268 lb.ft. at 4,800 rpm, representing a 55 horsepower increase over the previous 3.5-liter V6.

On the new Jeep Grand Cherokee, the Pentastar V6 produces 290HP, while on the forthcoming 2011 Dodge Avenger, and Chrysler 200 sedan and Town & Country minivan, it will deliver 283HP. The soon-to-be-launched 2011 Dodge Charger will feature a 292-horsepower variant of the 3.6-liter V6. Other models to get the Pentastar V6 include the new Dodge Durango and Journey.

According to Chrysler, the new Pentastar V6 is not only more and fuel efficient than the six-cylinder engines it replaces, but is also significantly lighter. For example, the new 3.6L V6 is 94 lbs. lighter than the 3.7-liter engine it replaced in Jeep Grand Cherokee and 42 lbs. less than the 3.5-liter it replaces on the Chrysler 300.

"The Pentastar engine is suited to meet the requirements for a full range of vehicle applications in terms of power and fuel efficiency (average savings up to 7 percent across the model range) including passenger cars, mini-vans and sport utilities," said Bob Lee, vice president of engine engineering for Chrysler Group LLC.

"It has been designed for today and many years to come. Already, we are looking forward to adapting future technologies as they become available to the Pentastar V-6 for even more fuel efficiency and performance."

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That's the title that came with the press release on Vilner's Jeep Grand Cherokee tune that arrived in our mailbox, and we just had to use it. After all, it's always refreshing to see people in the auto industry with a sense of humor. Now, onto the little bit of info on this 600-horsepower Jeep.

Vilner, a Bulgarian tuner, has crafted this über-luxurious interior for the SRT600 Grand Cherokee. The Bulgarian tuner says the car has a "Vortech" turbo system (likely a Hennessey unit, as it's an SRT600) and, as you can see for yourself, a sea of grey leather and Alcantara highlighted by carbon fiber trim.

Other than that, there isn't much to say. Enjoy the pics below and don't forget to take a look at the press release which includes some hit catch phrases such as "your chances to sit in this car are close to zero" and "it smells like a LOT (and) expensive leather".

By Phil Alex

Link: Vilner

VILNER PRESS RELEASE:

Bulgarian job but a nice one (believe it or not!)

The most powerful Grand Cherokee, which you can spot in Bulgaria was finished in … Bulgaria. Surprised, ah? And if the turbo was made by the Californians from Vorteh, perfectly installed by the tuners of Overdive, the interior of this flying off-road coach is a pure Bulgarian job. And it smells like a LOT (and) expensive leather.

Since your chances to sit in this car are close to zero, we will tell you what you can find in there and what you cannot. Then you can brag about as if someone gave you a ride with the strongest Grand Cherokee in Bulgaria.

The interior is in different nuances of the grey, plus a pinch or two of carbon to taste, as the most rounded TV cook would say. Bulgarian studio Vilner turned the whole jeep inside out in order to redress its interior only in a stylish combination of leather and alcantara. Since everyone talk about the latter but no one knows that exactly it is (and why the hell one small saloon of alcantara burdens the invoice for your brand new car with at least several thousand EUR), we will explain it out loud. Alcantara is not deerskin but only pure artificial high-tech microfiber. So high-tech that it is offered for the same price as leather, however it is easily cleaned, highly durable, looks like expensive velveteen and it is perfect for the ceiling, front panel, seats, steering-wheel or for the door panels.

Back to the interior of the red Grand Cherokee – it has carbon on the gears, hand brake, and steering-wheel. Actually, they are dressed in carbon leather, which perfectly imitates the outrageously expensive real carbon. If you are such a nut, Vilner could do this for you too. Their goal in the case with the brutal Grand Cherokee, however, was to create the feeling of something much more special than the original plastic-fantastic interior of each modern Jeep.

The whole grey composition in the project is surmounted with red seams, which discreetly remind of the magnificent red paintjob of the vehicle. Each of the seats, as well as the ceiling, are with designer prints with woven inscription "600 SRT". The number shows the number of horses under the front hood and the second one, in the language of Grand Cherokee, means V8 engine from the Street and Racing Technology series of Chrysler.

VILNER EOOD was incorporated in 1996, and since 2010 the Vilner brandname has already been patented. The company relies on high quality and professionalism, aiming at being different from the others and it has raised its standards alone in order to be competitive. The services that it provides are design of interior furnishing of vehicles and buildings, additional noise-isolation of the coupe, diode lighting, designer solutions with carbon, piano varnish and aluminum, sound-screening and multimedia for vehicles, upholstering children carseats with leather, individual design of Vertu telephones, etc. The company policy is to prepare in advance the project's design, so that the client could see how it would look like and to start work only after it gets the client's approval.

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Jeep will debut an updated European lineup in Paris this year, and for the first time in a while it may actually appeal to Western European consumers. The 2011 Grand Cherokee, revised 2011 Wrangler, and the rest of the off-road crew are appearing to showcase two new forms of diesel power.

Naturally, Jeep won't be bringing anything new models to the Parisian table, but the diesel engines are here in order to help entice European buyers into giving the American Commando brand a closer look.

After all, the Grand Cherokee - which now rides on a Quadra-Lift air suspension setup like other hoity-toity SUVs - has a good bit of Benzo DNA in it and looks great. No word yet on what kind of diesel engine is getting under that hood, but it should help the new GC give them Euro boys some competition.

The larger of the previously-mentioned new forms of propulsion is a 2.8 liter turbodiesel V6 debuting in the 2011 Cherokee (I wish; it's the Liberty in Amurrica) and 2011 Wrangler; it features Chrysler's first stab at start/stop tech if equipped with the 6-speed manual transmission.

The 2.8 TD makes 200 horsepower and 410 Nm or 460 Nm ( lb ft) of torque with the 6-speed stick and 5-speed auto, respectively, while improving efficiency by 13% and cutting emissions by 14% (15% in the Cherokee 4X4).

According to Jeep, the new combined fuel economy figures are 7.7 lt/100km or 30.6mpg US for the manual Cherokee (7.8 lt/100km with the auto box), 7.1 lt/100km or 33.1mpg US for the manual Wrangler (Auto: 8.1 lt/100km) and 7.4 lt/100km or 31.8mpg US for the manual Wrangler Unlimited (Auto: 8.3 lt/100km).

A 163-horsepower / 320 Nm 2.2-liter TD engine with a 6-speed will make its appearance in the Patriot/Compass siblings in place of the old 2.0-liter. It'll help the not-so-cute utes tow up to 2000 kg, consume 6.6 lt/100 km or 35.6 mpg US combined, and emit 172 grams of CO2 per kilometer.

For full specs on the 2011 Wrangler and Grand Cherokee, go ahead and check out our previous posts. Regarding the 2011 Cherokee, stay right here. For Europe, there will be a special "Jet" edition appearing in Paris.

On the outside it will get bright trim (lower fascia, side molding, roof runners, and above the license plate), chrome mirrors, black headlight housings, and tinted windows; inside, "accent stitching" is optional. The Cherokee Jet will be available in Bright Silver, Dark Charcoal, Brilliant Black and Blackberry and comes with a...(sigh)..."Jet" badge on the fenders.

Jeep President and Chief Executive Officer Mike Manley says, "The Jeep brand's legendary heritage has made it one of the most recognized brands in the world. [It] continues to evolve with new vehicles, designs, powertrains and technology. We are proud to bring the newest Jeep innovations to Paris, including the Company's first application of Stop/Start technology that helps improve Jeep Wrangler's fuel economy by up to 13 percent, as well as the all-new Jeep Grand Cherokee, designed and built to answer the needs of customers here in Europe and around the world."

By Phil Alex