Jeep Challenges 2021 Ford Bronco With Wrangler “392” HEMI V8 Engine Option

Right before the reveal of the all-new Bronco, the Wrangler got out the ace it was hiding up its sleeve. The “392” teaser published by Jeep on Twitter refers to the displacement of the 6.4-liter HEMI V8 in cubic inches. Curiously enough, the computer-generated image has no caption.

What is Jeep trying to say by that? My gut tells me the Gladiator is going to get the 485-horsepower engine as well, trumping other mid-size pickup trucks with eight cylinders instead of six or four. The 392 HEMI also happens to be a torquey son of a gun, cranking out exactly 475 pound-feet (644 Nm).

Codenamed “Apache” and based on the “Eagle” 5.7-liter HEMI, the 6.4-liter powerplant debuted in the 2011 Dodge Challenger SRT8. The crate version of the 392 blunderbuss, known as part number 68303090AA in the Mopar performance parts catalog, can be had from $9,960 (excl. freight).

At the end of the day, Jeep is trying to prove the Blue Oval that the Wrangler is still top dog despite a number of obvious downsides compared to the Bronco. One of the most obvious is the rubber of the Rubicon, which isn't as chunky as the 315/70R17 off-road tires of the buckin’ Bronco.

The six-speed manual transmission also plays second fiddle to the seven-speeder from Ford, a stick shift with a crawler gear instead of an overdrive seventh ratio. The C7 Corvette, by comparison, features a triple-overdrive affair that maximizes fuel economy to 29 miles per gallon on the highway.

So, how does the Jeep Wrangler 392 HEMI stack up the Bronco with the 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6? Obviously enough, gas mileage will favor the Ford. But as far as output figures are concerned, the Bronco takes second place with 325 horsepower and 400 pound-feet (542 Nm) of torque.

You know what they say – there’s no replacement for displacement. And yes, the free-breathing V8 sounds way better than the twin-turbo V6 as well.

pic.twitter.com/YmvTwPCE61

— Jeep (@Jeep) July 11, 2020

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