Jeep's XL-Sized Wagoneer Twins Could Get HEMI V8 After All

At the New York Auto Show this week, Jeep's lineup got a little bigger. The brand debuted the Jeep Grand Wagoneer L and Wagoneer L at the show. In short, they're the biggest, most luxurious, cushiest Jeeps you can buy today. These are the long-wheelbase versions of the existing models, with the L models growing by a whole 12 inches. That in and of itself is pretty newsworthy, but there's something else.

The star of Jeep's new, longer cars is the introduction of the new Hurricane twin-turbo straight-six. In the Wagoneer L, it'll produce 420 hp and 468 lb-ft of torque, and 510 hp and 500 lb-ft in the Grand Wagoneer L. But while combing the press release, we found out something even more interesting might be coming to the Wagoneer L lineup.

One of our writers found the information buried deep in the bowels of the press kit provided by Jeep, under a section titled "Dimensions and Capacities." Obviously, that's an important section when the car it's talking about is a foot longer than the base versions. Regardless, a row in that category had this to say:

"Ground Clearance (with 275/55R20 tire and 5.7-liter engine): 8.3 (210)- standard suspension, 10.0 (253)- air suspension (Pos#2)." The numbers following the mention of the engine are, by the way, in reference to the ride height of the car in inches and centimeters.

Strangely, this is the only mention of a 5.7-liter engine anywhere in Jeep's press materials. It's not much to go on, but this is an official release from Jeep. Confirmation? Maybe not. But enough to give us some ideas? Certainly.

The rest of Jeep's materials on the new XL Wagoneers only confirms one powerplant thus far: that Hurricane straight-six. But Jeep has previously said it won't strictly be a replacement for the HEMI. The V8 is still found in the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the regular Wagoner where it produces 392 hp, so it isn't much of a stretch to guess it'll be making its way up the Jeep SUV hierarchy, especially for those who like the old ways. In what capacity, we don't know.

Given the already high power numbers put out by the Hurricane, it's possible Jeep will utilize a hotted-up version of the HEMI in a future, more performance-leaning Wagoneer model, or perhaps in an off-road version, given its mention under "ground clearance." Time will tell.