Stellantis Delivers on Its Promise: Its New 6-Cylinder Engine Is More Powerful and Outperforms the V8

A few weeks ago, Stellantis promised to show just how far its new Hurricane engine could go. We now know the answer: 600 ch. At the unveiling of the new Dodge Charger Super Bee, Stellantis has just revealed the most powerful version to date of its 3.0-liter twin-turbo inline-six engine. And naturally, from a European perspective, this powertrain is sparking some ideas…

Because behind this American Dodge Charger lies a combination that would likely have been the stuff of dreams for many Alfa Romeo enthusiasts: a rear-wheel-drive car based on the STLA Large platform and equipped with a six-cylinder engine producing 600 ch. In a parallel universe, it’s hard not to imagine what that might have looked like under the hood of a new Alfa Romeo GTV.

The Hurricane now delivers 600 ch

Until now, the High Output version of the Hurricane engine installed in the Charger SIXPACK produced 550 ch and 720 Nm. With the new Charger Super Bee Launch Edition, Dodge gains an additional 50 ch while maintaining 720 Nm of torque.

Contrary to what one might have imagined at the time of our previous article, Dodge didn't settle for a simple remap. The six-cylinder engine features larger 56-mm Garrett turbochargers operating at up to 30 psi, a modified intake, a redesigned exhaust system, and a new electronic control unit.

The result is quite impressive: with 200 ch per liter, this Hurricane enables the Charger Super Bee to go from 0 to 60 mph (96 km/h) in just 3.6 seconds. That’s even a tenth of a second faster than the previous 707 ch Charger Hellcat. Over the quarter-mile, however, the V8 retains the edge with a time of 11 seconds, compared to 11.8 seconds for the newcomer.

Model	Load Hellcat 2015	Download Super Bee 2023	Load Scat Pack 2026	Charge Super Bee 2027	Maserati Nettuno
Engine	6.2-liter supercharged V8	6.4-liter naturally aspirated V8	L6 3.0-liter twin-turbo	L6 3.0-liter twin-turbo	3.0-liter twin-turbo V6
Power	707 hp	485 hp	550 hp	600 hp	630 hp
Power per liter	≈ 116 ch/L	≈ 77 ch/L	≈ 186 ch/L	≈ 203 ch/L	210 ch/L
Couple	880 Nm	640 Nm	720 Nm	720 Nm	730 Nm
0 to 100 km/h	3,7 s	4,5 s	3,9 s	3,6 s	≈ 2.9 s*

Stellantis wants to show that a six-cylinder engine can replace the V8

Dodge didn't stop at the engine, either. Radiator cooling has been improved by more than 50 %, while the Super Bee features new adaptive suspension, large Brembo brakes, 20-inch forged wheels with 305 mm tires, and several specific driving modes, including Track and Drag.

The all-wheel drive can also be disengaged via a rear-wheel-drive mode—just to remind us that this is still a Dodge, and that a Charger should also be able to make its rear tires smoke. Above all, it’s yet another demonstration of the Hurricane’s potential. Criticized for having the daunting task of succeeding the HEMI V8s, Stellantis’s six-cylinder engine is starting to really step up its game.

What if this engine had found its place at Alfa Romeo?

And that’s probably where this new Charger becomes particularly frustrating when viewed from Europe. Stellantis now has the STLA Large platform—an architecture capable of supporting rear-wheel-drive vehicles—and a twin-turbo inline-six engine producing 600 ch.

It's hard not to imagine, in a parallel universe, an Alfa Romeo GTV built around these elements: a longitudinally mounted front engine, rear-wheel drive, a 600 ch six-cylinder engine, and the body of a grand Italian coupe.

That’s unlikely to happen. Stellantis has made different choices for Alfa Romeo, and the Hurricane remains, for now, a platform intended primarily for North America. But this Dodge Charger Super Bee at least gives us a sense of what was technically possible. And with 600 ch from a Stellantis inline-six, there was probably enough potential to create a rather spectacular Alfa Romeo.