Fiat 500 Lineup Will Likely Get 1.3-Liter Hybrid Power

Fiat Chrysler may soon apply the 48-volt eTorque system to its new 1.3-liter turbo inline-four.

Fiat Chrysler may introduce hybrid power to its entry-level cars and crossovers, including the next-gen Fiat 500 lineup, using the new 1.3-liter turbo inline-four.

The eTorque system is currently available on three engines, including a 2.0-liter inline-four in the Jeep Wrangler.

Expect FCA to drop the 2.4-liter naturally aspirated four and 1.4-liter turbo four as next-gen models debut.

Fiat's first gas-electric hybrids will likely emerge across the 500 lineup in the coming model years as Turin weeds out older, less efficient four-cylinder engines that are incompatible with its eTorque 48-volt hybrid system.

While Fiat Chrysler announced it would electrify the 500 lineup last year, we have a good idea which gasoline engine will do the grunt work: FCA’s new 1.3-liter turbocharged inline-four. The info is officially unconfirmed by FCA, which states that it has not announced any specific plans for this particular engine. During an investor meeting in June 2018, the company confirmed that it would be introducing "mild hybrid powertrains" to the 500, 500L, and 500X, according to Automotive News. 

The engine was first launched for certain 2019 Jeep Renegade trims, teased in the Renegade and Compass plug-in-hybrid concepts, and now the only choice in the 2019 Fiat 500X. As part of FCA's plan to introduce 30 new electrified models by 2022—whether hybrid, plug-in, or battery-electric—expect the 500, 500C, 500L, and 500X to introduce a 1.3-liter eTorque option in their next generations. 

Without electric assist, the tiny engine makes a stout 177 horsepower and 210 lb-ft thanks to an integrated exhaust manifold and intercooler, polymer-coated bearings, turbo boost up to 25 psi (versus 18 psi in the 1.4-liter), and the third generation of Fiat's MultiAir variable-intake-valve system. The naturally aspirated 2.4-liter Tigershark coughs out 180 horsepower and, in last year's 500X, just 175 lb-ft at 3900 rpm. The new 1.3-liter's torque peaks at 2200 rpm. With a 48-volt belt-driven motor-generator bolted to this engine—as it is on the more powerful 2.0-liter turbo four in the Jeep Wrangler—we expect greater-than-Abarth levels of standing-start and midrange acceleration. The highest Abarth tune on the current 1.4-liter turbo is only 164 hp and 184 lb-ft in the 124 Spider.

On top of the 1.3-liter's increased output are increased EPA fuel-economy estimates, at least on the 2019 500X where it boosts city mileage by 3 mpg and on the highway by 1 mpg versus the 2.4-liter. A hybrid system with this new engine might finally put Fiat into high-mpg territory where these little Italian cars should have been performing all along.

FCA won't say it, but we predict accelerated deaths for the buzzy 2.4-liter and the smoother 1.4-liter turbo that power much of the Fiat and smaller Jeep models. Both engines are now inferior in efficiency, NVH, and output. Compatibility with FCA's eTorque system is a critical and cost-effective measure to reduce emissions on these entry-level cars and crossovers. And who among us doesn't want a Fiat to go faster? 

An earlier version of this story incorrectly compared the 1.3-liter's fuel economy to the 1.4-liter. It has also been updated with comment from FCA.