General Motors says its plans for new engines and transmissions will result in 50 new engine variants and 10 new six-speed automatic transmission variants in the next few years. The company told journalists assembled inFrance on a background event that the engines would include a new turbocharged 2.8-liter V-6 that will show up in the 2006 Saab 9-3, and will produce 250 hp of power and 258 lb-ft of torque. The new engine will be produced at Holden's Port Melbourne engine plant, where the related 3.6-liter version of the V-6 is made. GM also has plans for a new 5.3-liter V-8 engine developed specifically for front-drive applications; the transverse V-8 will put out 290 hp and 325 lb-ft of torque. The new six-speed transmissions will include gearboxes made for both front- and rear-wheel drive; GM says that by 2008 it will be producing more than one million six-speed transmissions per year. And finally, GM says by 2007 it will have a hybrid system for its SUV V-8 engines that will combine displacement on demand technology with a strong hybrid system to boost the fuel economy of its big SUVs by 25 percent, while retaining towing performance.