Chrysler Plans to Bring Out V-10 Engine : Likely to Be Introduced on Trucks in Early ‘90s

Chrysler Corp. said Tuesday that it plans to introduce a 10-cylinder engine in the early 1990s, the first built by a U.S. auto maker.

A version of the engine will be shown later this week at the North American Automobile Show in Detroit on the Dodge Viper RT-10 concept car, said Thomas Gale, Chrysler’s vice president of product design.

Gale disclosed the V-10 engine program at Chrysler’s unveiling of a series of concept cars, including several models expected to be in showrooms within the next few years.

While the engine is not yet available on production models, Gale said that he expects to see it used on Formula One racing cars soon.

“The V-10 is coming forward--it is a program,” Gale said.

7-Liter Engine

The engine probably will be produced at a Chrysler engine plant in Detroit, he added. Trade publications have previously reported speculation about the V-10 engine program, but Chrysler had not previously confirmed the reports.

Gale said the engine likely would be introduced on Chrysler truck models in the early 1990s but declined to be more specific.

Ronald Glantz, an automotive analyst with Montgomery Securities, said the engine would be used “mainly in motor homes and medium trucks, and they will probably make a version of it for Lamborghini.”

Chrysler bought the Italian sports car manufacturer in 1987.

Glantz said the new engine would be the largest built by a U.S. auto company. “It’s over seven liters (in displacement),” he told Reuters.

The largest engine available on production models, a V-12 power plant in Jaguar luxury cars, is a 5.3-liter engine.

The largest automotive engine presently built in the United States is a 5.9-liter V-8 built by Chrysler for its Jeep Grand Wagoneer. Chrysler took over Jeep when it bought American Motors Corp. in 1987.