(January 28, 2012) AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Just 18 months following the start of production as the standard engine for the 2010 Jeep Grand Cherokee, the one millionth Pentastar V-6 engine was assembled Jan. 27 at the Chrysler Group’s Trenton (Mich.) Engine Assembly Plant.

“The Pentastar engine is a cornerstone of Chrysler Group’s effort to reinvent its business model with world class quality products. This award-winning engine is proof that the Company is transforming it products to meet the needs of our customers,” said Brian Harlow, vice president, head of Powertrain Manufacturing.

“To build one million of anything, and in an impressively short amount of time, is a significant achievement. But to do it with such a high degree of quality is a testament to our skilled and dedicated workforce at both Trenton South and Saltillo engine plants.”

The 60-degree, V-6 engine, the most advanced six-cylinder ever produced by Chrysler, is now available in 11 vehicles across the Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep lineups and available in front-, rear-, and all-wheel-drive configurations. Depending on the vehicle, engines are tuned for specific applications with horsepower ranging from 283 on front-wheel-drive models and up to 305 horsepower on the sporty Dodge Challenger.

The all-aluminum engine is standard or available on the Chrysler, 200, 300 and Town and Country; Dodge Avenger, Challenger, Charger, Durango, Journey and Caravan.

For 2012, the 3.6-liter engine also is standard with Jeep Wrangler and provides 285 horsepower — an increase of 40 percent over last year’s model. Torque is up 10 percent to 260 lb. ft. and highway fuel efficiency is improved to 21 miles per gallon (mpg) on the 2012 model.

Engineered to meet a variety of requirements, the Pentastar V-6 engine also is the exclusive engine used with the new eight-speed automatic transmission on the Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 models. The new engine and transmission combination deliver 31 mpg on the highway.

Just recently, the Pentastar V-6 repeated as one of the “10 Best Engines” following evaluation and testing by editors of Ward’s Automotive magazine.

Despite the impressive gains in power, the engine is designed to run on regular 87 octane gasoline. It also is capable of running on alternate fuels including E85.