Aug
22
Blast from the past: Chrysler’s return to rear-drive mid-size cars puts a Teutonic twist to an America classic
Filed Under Chrysler News
Those of us on this side of the business know that at the time front-drive was an inexpensive alternative that saved a car company on the brink of disaster spawning a front-drive revolution.
The long answer would be that the rear-drive was chosen because that architecture offers the best vehicle balance and handling without compromising luxury. Look around. There aren’t any front-drive BMWs or Mercedes. But Chief Engineer Burke Brown has the one-word answer–Hemi.
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“We couldn’t do a front drive car with a 340 hp Hemi,” he says.
The Hemi is certainly one of the best known brand names in the auto industry and DaimlerChrysler is leveraging that brand recognition. The powerplant, that made its debut in full-size pickups, has found its way into the Durango SUV and now into the 300C sedan and Magnum sport wagon.
The optional 5.7L Hemi delivers 340 hp at 5,000 rpm and 390 lb. ft. of torque at 4,000 rpm. The engine features a deep-skirt cast-iron block and aluminum heads. Burke Brown says that it has all of the ingredients that make a Hemi a Hemi–a double rocker shaft, dome pistons and a camshaft that sits high in the block.
Brown says that the architecture facilitated the development of the Multiple-Displacement System (MDS). The electronically-controlled system works similar to GM’s Displacement on Demand, using oil pressure to disable four cylinders under certain conditions.
Unlike GM’s system, which uses an add-on oiling plenum to fill the lifters, the Hemi’s hydraulic lifters are fed through oil passages machined into the block. With the use of Electronic Throttle Control and sophisticated algorithms the transition from four to eight cylinders can be done in 40 ms.
Brown says that it’s a simple design that runs seamlessly and results in a 10 to 20 percent savings in fuel economy.
