1937 Chrysler Royal 4 Door Sedan Project Car on 2040-cars

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Driving the Jeep J6, Shakedown Challenger and other Mopar concepts

Mopar has been a one-stop-shop for factory-backed performance modifications and accessories on FCA products for a long time now. You want a 707-horsepower engine for your old Plymouth Belvedere? Mopar has you covered with the Hellcrate. Maybe you want a lift and off-roading lights on that newly-bought Wrangler? Mopar can accommodate those wants (or needs, we don’t judge) as well. We get to see some of the companyÂ’s weirdest creations every now and then, but rarely do we get the opportunity to drive the FCA Mopar concepts. ThatÂ’s what made this past Woodward Dream Cruise so special: We got to rip some of MoparÂ’s finest and most recent creations up and down Woodward Avenue. Everything from a 1971 Challenger restomod to the brand-new Easter Jeep Safari J6 concept was in attendance, so letÂ’s get right to it. Mopar Woodward View 6 Photos 1967 Plymouth Hellvedere This car is near the pinnacle of what you can do with off-the-shelf Mopar purchases. It was only a humble 1967 Plymouth Belvedere before Mopar dropped the 707-horsepower supercharged V8 from the Hellcat into the engine bay. Sound ridiculous? Yeah, it is. Other parts of it are new as well, including the disc brakes. Good call. However, Mopar didnÂ’t remove the classic car charm from the entire driving experience. The steering, for example, is surely as slow and inaccurate as it was back in 1967. That doesnÂ’t help matters when youÂ’re trying to put 707 horsepower to the pavement with less-than-ideal rear rubber. Floor it in damn near any gear of the Tremec six-speed, and the front end rises straight up as the rear kicks sideways with the force of many mules. There are no electronics such as traction control or stability control to step in and wrangle the car into submission. But hey, who wants them, anyway? The question remains: Should you buy a Hellcrate engine for your classic? If money were no object, the easy answer is yes. Have at it so long as you love smoky burnouts and excessive amounts of horsepower. Just make sure you know how to deal with that much power before you stick your right foot in it.   Dodge Challenger Shakedown View 15 Photos 2016 Dodge Shakedown Challenger Concept WeÂ’re going downhill in horsepower with this restomod, but the drivability and ease of driving goes way up. Dodge showed this “Shakedown” concept at SEMA awhile back, and as with most concept cars, getting a chance behind the wheel is a special opportunity.

Fiat Chrysler patent shows a turbocharged inline-six engine

The rumor that Fiat Chrysler is developing an inline six-cylinder surfaced on Allpar more than a year ago. In a follow-up report in December last year, Allpar tapped its sources to add more information, like the codename "Tornado" and the plan for the turbocharged motor to replace the 5.7-liter Hemi V8. Even so, it only made sense to speak of the engine as a rumor at the time. Now we have our first bit of circumstantial evidence, Mopar Insiders having found a patent issued to FCA that uses drawings of an inline-six to describe a system for tracking elements in exhaust gases in a turbocharged inline-six. FCA applied for the patent on November 1, 2017, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted it April 2, 2019. As with everything else in a patent application, the drawing cannot be an accident. The U.S. PTO granted two other engine-related patents to FCA on March 19 and April 2 this year, and FCA used drawings of a V6 in both of those applications. The December Allpar report presumed one version of the Tornado engine would get a single, twin-scroll turbo and slot into service with Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram. Another version with twin turbos, and perhaps revised heads, could do time with Alfa Romeo, Maserati, and perhaps SRT. Mopar Insiders doesn't break down turbo count, but cites its sources as revealing an output range of 360 horsepower up to 525 horsepower. FCA's E-Booster technology, originally mentioned as a way to help a revived Alfa Romeo 8C get 700 hp, will enable larger turbos on performance versions of the Tornado I-6. E-Booster electrifies some aspect of the turbocharger — FCA hasn't got into the details yet — to eliminate lag while providing 25 percent more power. Mopar Insiders' output figures would give the engine long enough legs to replace the 3.2-liter and 3.6-liter Pentastar V6s, as well as the 5.7-liter Hemi V8. The site said the Tornado will also replace the canceled 7.0-liter Banshee V8. The 3.0-liter Tornado Global Medium Engine Turbocharged 6 (GME T-6), based on the Hurricane 2.0-liter GME four-cylinder (GME I-4), is expected to go into FCA products around the world. We'll wait to see how the PSA merger might affect allocation. Displacement will come in a hair below three liters so as to avoid tax thresholds in certain countries, and it was said engineers were trying to keep the inline-six no more than three inches longer than the 2.4-liter Tigershark four-cylinder.

Lee Iacocca’s 10,000-square-foot Bel Air mansion hits the market

We’ve seen the auctioning off of much of the estate of the late, famed auto executive and former Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca, who died last year at age 94, including his 1992 Dodge Viper and wood-sided 1986 Chrysler LeBaron Town & Country Convertible. Now comes his former Southern California mansion, which has hit the market for a cool $26.9 million. The Tuscan-style mansion in the tony Bel Air section of Los Angeles is where Iacocca lived following his retirement from Chrysler and the automotive industry in 1992. According to the website TopTenRealEstateDeals.com, itÂ’s a 10,682 square-foot, five-bedroom, eight-bath palace on 1 acre near the Bel Air Country Club. It comes with four ensuite guest rooms, a separate staff apartment, formal living and dining rooms, a wood-paneled library and five (!) fireplaces. High ceilings, chandeliers and expensive wood trim and moulding work abound. ItÂ’s also tailor-made for entertaining, with big open-plan rooms opening to landscaped terraces, a chefÂ’s kitchen, a swimming pool, spa and tennis courts. And in fact, Iacocca was said to have entertained the likes of Bob and Delores Hope, Frank and Barbara Sinatra, Priscilla Presley and Betty White. Oddly, considering Iacocca was one of the first celebrity auto execs, thereÂ’s no information about the estateÂ’s garage; Autoblog has inquired about that with the listing agents and will update this if we hear back. In the overhead view in the gallery above, the driveway leads to the large wing on the left side of the house, so the garage is potentially pretty big, but it's hard to say what else might share space under that roof. Aside from his work developing the iconic Ford Mustang in the 1960s, Iacocca is perhaps best known to generations of Americans for his role rescuing Chrysler from collapse. He did so by securing a $1.2 billion federal loan from Congress, restructuring the company by cutting wages and closing plants introducing popular fuel-efficient cars like the K Car and introducing the minivan. After his retirement in 1992, Iacocca invested in casinos and a line of imported olive oil, and he was a member of several corporate boards.   Featured Gallery Lee Iacocca's Bel Air mansion View 11 Photos Celebrities Chrysler