Chrysler builds last non-Hemi V8

Chrysler\'s 4.7-liter V8 has officially bitten the dust in favor of its smaller 3.6-liter unit.

Chrylser's mid-level 4.7-liter V8 has officially entered the history books after a 15 year run in Jeep, Dodge and Ram vehicles, leaving the Hemi-branded engine family as the automaker's only V8 range.

The last of more than 3 million 4.7-liter V8s rolled off the assembly line last week at Chrysler's Mack Avenue Engine Plant I in Detroit, the automaker revealed yesterday in a blog posting. The very last V8 was signed by employees and it will go on permanent display in the plant's lobby.

The plant will soon switch over to production of Chrysler's 3.6-liter Pentastar V6.

Introduced in 1998 for the 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee, the 4.7-liter unit was first rated at 235 horsepower and 295 lb-ft. of torque. At its peak, the V8 was rated at 310 horsepower and 330 lb-ft. of torque, but it quickly fell out of vogue in Chrysler's truck and SUV range in favor of both the larger 5.7-liter Hemi V8 and the automaker's newer Pentastar V6.

The 2013 Ram 1500 truck range offers the 4.7-liter V8, but the 2014 models will only offer the 3.6-liter V6 an 5.7-liter Hemi gas engines. Chrysler has no plans to discontinue its 5.7 and 6.4-liter Hemi range.

The 4.7-liter unit was badged PowerTech for the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Commander and Magnum for Dodge's second-generation Durango, the Chrysler Aspen and the Ram and Dakota pickups.