Yahoo Autos Stellantis' New EV Platform Can Carry More Power Than Hellcat V-8s, Will Support ICE
Following the debut of the new Jeep Wagoneer S earlier this week, Stellantis shared some official details about the truck’s upcoming STLA EV Large platform on a call with media on Friday. With seven other vehicles across five brands slated to join the Jeep on the platform by 2026, there’s a lot to learn about this flexible, BEV, hybrid, and internal-combustion supporting setup.
STLA Large is one of four EV platforms—joined by STLA Small, STLA Medium, and STLA Frame—slated to fill the Stellantis portfolio during the EV transition. The STLA Medium platform is already on sale in Europe by way of the Peugeot e-3008, but has yet to reach American shores. The STLA Large platform should arrive in the States by the end of the year, however. Stellantis says on that front, a Dodge product will lead the charge. Given what we know of the brand’s product plans, expect the Dodge Charger replacement to introduce us to STLA Large. The Jeep Wagoneer S will follow suit shortly after that, highlighting the flexibility of the chassis. The brand says it intends to build everything from sedans, crossovers, and SUVs on the same platform.
To accomplish that goal, STLA Large has a number of baked-in adjustments. The wheelbase can range from 113 to 121 inches, with overall vehicle lengths between 187.6 and 201.8 inches. Track width can also change from just 64 inches to up to 70 inches, whereas ground clearance ranges from 5.5 to 11.3 inches.
“As a result, if you want a curve-hugging, track-ready performance vehicle, a smooth-riding luxury car, or rock-clearing off-roader, we’ve addressed these needs within the platform,” said vice president and large platform chief engineer Mark Issner.
Sitting at the heart of STLA Large you’ll find several battery options ranging between 85 and 118 kWh in capacity. Those packs will be backed by both 400-volt and 800-volt architecture, with the former arriving first for customers. The automaker says it is targeting up to 500 miles of range for the STLA Large vehicles, with the ability to add more capacity down the line by way of additional energy storage technology under development. The battery works in tandem with the brand’s electric drive modules, which can be tailored for front-, rear-, and all-wheel drive configurations.
Additional performance hardware such as limited-slip differentials are also planned for performance-minded models, whereas wheel end disconnects allow for improved efficiency where it counts. While not ready to give us the total output range, Stellantis says the platform will outperform every Hellcat V-8-powered model we received over the last few years. Charge times should hit 4.5 kWh per minute with the 800-volt architecture.
Sticking with that theme of flexibility, Stellantis has developed this platform with multiple powertrains in mind. Specifics remain scarce at this movement, but executives confirmed that internal combustion and hybrid powertrains are on the menu. Both transverse and longitudinal engine mounts are accounted for, as well as the same FWD/RWD/AWD layout as the pure BEVs. One can expect the brand’s 3.0-liter Hurricane inline-six to serve duty in some form of STLA Large platform, as well as its 2.0-liter hybrid that currently serves duty in the immensely popular Wrangler 4xe. This only further fuels the rumors that the Charger EV won't be entirely electric only.
The STLA Large platform will be shared across the Dodge, Jeep, Chrysler, Alfa Romeo, and Maserati brands in medium and large sedan segments, as well as with crossovers and SUVs. Differentiating between those products on a shared platform is something that will be crucial to all of the STLA vehicles arriving in the next few years. When asked how the auto group plans to differentiate its platform-sharing products from its different brands, CEO Carlos Tavares said he feels the company "already answered that question over the last 30 years, and we will keep on answering that question."
“In this specific case, I think we will explain to you that we can accommodate very different ground clearances for off-road and a highway usage of the different products, you can accommodate very different tunings, and as soon as the platform absorbs front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive, and all-wheel drive, different ground clearances with enough stroke on the suspension, then you can tune your product in a very different way," Tavares said. "And of course, you can have different levels of isolation for different levels of acoustics in the car. So today that is not anymore a problem at all, because it is embedded in the initial engineering thinking from our engineers.”
“At the very beginning we had an idea of the range of vehicles that we wanted to apply to this platform,” added Issner. “And so we kept that in mind as we were doing the design and development of this platform. You hear the flex from an overall wheelbase, track width, and that allows us to adapt the platform to support the various top halves that we want to apply to this platform in up-front thinking. We can always continue to modify as we go forward, however, at this point, we know that we have a solid platform that will achieve each of those different brand missions.”
Production of the STLA Large platform will take place at several production sites across the United States and Europe, with vehicles arriving by the end of 2024. New models will continue to trickle out until 2026, which is also when the STLA Small platform could arrive, according to Tavares. For now, get used to STLA Large. It’s gonna be underpinning a huge range of machines.
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