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FCA inline-six rumored to be real, headed for Jeep Wagoneer

In September, Allpar reported that that clues being dropped at Fiat- Chrysler headquarters, in the carmaker's factories, and on engineer resumes pointed to the development of an inline six-cylinder engine. The site has just proclaimed the rumor is reality, writing that the straight-six, "turbocharged to meet or beat 5.7 Hemi power ratings, with a smoother torque curve, is on the way." The motor's first outing is expected to be either the next-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee, debuting perhaps next year, or the Jeep Wagoneer, debuting in 2020 or 2021. "Tornado" is the purported codename for the power plant said to be just under three liters in displacement, expanding the family begun with the Global Medium Engine 2.0-liter turbo codenamed Hurricane. Engine bay constraints and a long use horizon mean engineers won't simply add two more cylinders to the GME, however. Allpar says the brief is to keep the Tornado GME-T6 — the alphanumeric for "turbocharged six" — no more than three inches longer than the Tigershark 2.4-liter four-cylinder. That means "major design changes" that could include a space-saving head, more closely spaced cylinders, and no cylinder liners. An FCA division called Comau could be called on for its "SmartSpray" plasma lining technology. Allpar muses that the standard version of the engine for Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram could get a single twin-scroll turbocharger. Performance trims for Alfa Romeo and Maserati could get different heads and maybe twin turbos, an SRT version might also get both those tweaks. History shows that the Italian versions would make changes to the block, as well. Even so, the Tornado would be less expensive than any Ferrari-supplied V6. A straight-six would put FCA in company with current adopters BMW and Mercedes-Benz, future users like Jaguar, and perhaps Aston Martin. The engine would span the widest range of use cases in the U.S. carmaker's portfolio, though. Potential applications include being a base engine for Ram trucks, serving double duty as a base engine and 5.7-liter Hemi replacement for the Dodge Charger and Challenger, working in the high-end Jeeps, and as a properly hot trim — with Ferrari-designed heads — in the luxury Italian sports cars. The Alfa Romeo Giulia begs for just such motivation to fill the gap between the 280-hp, $42,695 Ti Sport RWD and the 505-hp, $73,700 Giulia Quadrifoglio RWD. And a twin-turbo inline-six in a Maserati Alfieri would stack up nicely with the Germans.

Audi, Fiat squabbling over numbers and letters

There have been rumors and speculation and prognostications about a Nissan Juke- and Mini Cooper-fighting Audi Q2 since 2012. There have been the same for a performance-oriented Q4 since 2011, perhaps previewed by the TT Offroad concept shown last year at the Beijing Motor Show. Turns out that those two alphanumeric combos are the only ones missing from the series Q1 to Q9 in Audi's trademark stable, and the Ingolstadt company wants to get them to make its badge sequence and crossover lineup complete. But Fiat owns them, and rumor is, CEO Sergio Marchionne appears to have no interest in selling them. Fiat has used the Q2 and Q4 like trim badges, identifying whether a company product has two-wheel or all-wheel drive. They did it with the Alfa Romeo 159 sedan, and they do it now on the Maserati Quattroporte S and Ghibli S Q4 sedans. Car magazine says Marchionne "may not be categorically opposed to selling the rights," but he absolutely won't do it to any fiefdom in the Volkswagen empire, which would leave Audi a jilted suitor. Why is Sergio being so serious? VW Group CEO Ferdinand Piech first starting waving torches on the bridge between the two companies when he said Alfa Romeo could sell four times as many cars if Volkswagen owned it, then burned the bridge when it continued to publicize its desire to buy Alfa Romeo. VW followed that up by throwing salt on the land around the destroyed bridge with its aggressive pricing in Europe during the worst of the car sales slump there, which Marchionne said was causing a "bloodbath." VW's final flourish was to set the river itself on fire, when a press officer said Marchionne wasn't qualified to head the European Automotive Manufacturers Association (ACEA) and VW would quit the organization if he did take the top spot. That is why, putting it optimistically, Audi looks to have a grim chance of getting the Q2 and Q4 marques from the Italian. So long as he is in power, at least: Marchionne said he's walking away from the job in 2018. Audi might have a better chance bending the knee to, and generously rewarding, his successor. Featured Gallery Audi TT Offroad Concept: Beijing 2014 View 16 Photos News Source: CarImage Credit: Live images copyright 2015 Chris Paukert / AOL Government/Legal Audi Fiat Volkswagen Crossover Luxury Sergio Marchionne trademark volkswagen group

Ferrari borrows $2.6 billion to finance FCA spinoff

Ferrari announced Monday that it is borrowing about $2.6 billion to finance its spinoff from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Here's how it breaks down: Ferrari NV, the automaker's parent company based in the Netherlands, is taking out loans totaling 2.5 billion euros. That's equivalent to $2.64 billion at current exchange rates, and is divided between a term loan of $2.12 billion and a revolving credit facility of $529 million. The larger term loan "will be used to refinance indebtedness owing to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles," among other purposes. That ought to constitute the lion's share of the $2.38 billion which the Prancing Horse marque was, according to reports last year, slated to pay its current parent company in order to help FCA fund its ambitious growth plans. The separate line of credit is earmarked "to be used from time to time for general corporate and working capital purposes of the Ferrari group." Though Ferrari is not expected to take any other Fiat Chrysler properties with it, the "group" in this case would include its various financial services and distribution arms around the world that may have been separately incorporated. As noted in the statement below, the financial arrangement "represents a further step towards the separation of Ferrari from the FCA Group," following the separate stock issues from both companies as independent from each other. FERRARI N.V. SIGNS ˆ2.5 BILLION SYNDICATED CREDIT FACILITY Ferrari N.V. (NYSE: RACE) ("Ferrari") announced today that it has entered into a ˆ2.5 billion syndicated loan facility with a group of ten bookrunner banks. The facility comprises a bridge loan (the "Bridge Loan") and a term loan (the "Term Loan") of ˆ2 billion in aggregate and a revolving credit facility of ˆ500 million (the "RCF"). Proceeds of the Bridge Loan and Term Loan will be used to refinance indebtedness owing to Fiat Chrysler AutomobilesN.V. (NYSE: FCAU) ("FCA") and other indebtedness and for other general corporate purposes. Proceeds of the RCF may be used from time to time for general corporate and working capital purposes of the Ferrari group. The Bridge Loan has a 12 month maturity with an option for Ferrari to extend once for a six-month period. Ferrari intends to refinance the Bridge Loan prior to its maturity with longer term debt, including through capital markets or other financing transactions. The Term Loan, which comprises a majority of the total facility, and the RCF each have a maturity of five years.