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Jaguar Land Rover to drop supercharged V8 for turbocharged BMW power

There are few things that sound as good as Jaguar's 5.0 liter supercharged V8. As great as it is when the supercharger whines or the exhaust cracks and pops on throttle lift-off as the air pressure equalizes, the basic design dates back to the '90s. Plainly, the engine isn't as efficient as it needs to be, but designing a new V8 from the ground up is an expensive proposition. Instead, Automobile reports that Jaguar Land Rover is set to use a twin-turbocharged V8s supplied by BMW. Scalable architecture is all the rage as automakers streamline designs in order to save costs. For example, Jaguar's current supercharged V6 is quite literally a V8 with two holes missing. They didn't even change the length of the block. It seems both of those designs are on their way out, with the V6 being replaced by a inline-six closely related to the company's inline four. It seems that rather than designing an new and expensive V8 for their top of the line models JLR, is sourcing from BMW. From 1994 to 2000, BMW owned Land Rover. A few models, including the Land Rover Range Rover, used BMW engines then and in the initial years of Ford's JLR stewardship. It seems things have now come full circle. BMW currently makes a twin-turbo 4.4 liter V8 that produces anywhere from 440 to 600 horsepower, depending on the application. Automobile says that a new 4.0 liter V8 is in the works and that it will most likely be the engine that JLR uses. Expect it to be more powerful, more fuel efficient, and lighter than what both BMW and JLR currently offer. This seems like a win for both companies. BMW gets to offset the cost of a new motor while JLR, a smaller company, doesn't have to invest in a whole new architecture. As automakers search for ways to cut costs, expect collaborations like this to continue. Infiniti and Mercedes-Benz both share a four-cylinder engine. Ford and GM have worked together to design a shared 10-speed automatic. While we may lament the loss of that wonderful Jaguar Land Rover engine, we can still be happy that they haven't abandoned the V8. Related Video: News Source: Automobile Rumormill BMW Jaguar Land Rover

Jaguar appoints Joe Eberhardt as North American President

Jaguar Land Rover North America has appointed a new president, Joachim Eberhardt. The German exec, 50, had previously done stints at Chrysler Group, DaimlerChrysler UK, Mercedes-Benz USA and Daimler-Benz.
Eberhardt joins JLR NA in a good, but challenging time for the company. It's fresh off the launch of the Range Rover Sport and Jaguar F-Type, which have been subject to rave reviews, and its overall sales are up 21 percent over 2012. Still, as Automotive News points out, the two manufacturers face a fight to become the equal of A-list competitors like BMW and Mercedes in the eyes of consumers.
"Joe brings a proven industry track record and valuable global leadership experience in luxury sales, service and marketing. We look forward to Joe leading our North American team in working with our retail networks to further grow the business and better serve our customers," JLR's group sales operations director, Andy Goss, said.

2020 Jaguar XE updated inside and out, diesel engine dropped

For the 2020 Jaguar XE sports sedan, less is more, at least in terms of powertrain offerings and trim levels. But the new, slimmer lineup adopts additional tech features, and the model also sees design tweaks inside and out. The diesel engine and the 3.0-liter V6 have been axed. The 247-horsepower 2.0-liter turbocharged Ingenium inline-four is the base engine. It's mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission and can be had with rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. This base engine's new model designation is P250, versus 25t previously. The step-up engine is the 296-hp version of the Ingenium 2.0-liter. Cars so equipped wear a new P300 badge, in place of the previous 30t. All-wheel drive is now standard with the 296-hp engine, and Jaguar claims a zero-to-60-mph time of 5.4 seconds for this powertrain. The exterior design tweaks include new bumpers front and rear, a reshaped rear valence, as well as new LED headlights and taillights. A wider grille with lattice mesh is supposed to draw the XE closer visually to the I-Pace EV. The previous thicket of trim levels — Premium, Prestige, R-Sport, S, Portfolio, and Landmark — have been pruned to just two: S and R-Dynamic S. Newly available is Jaguar Land Rover's InControl Touch Pro Duo infotainment system, which uses a second screen for climate control, flanked by two large knobs that can operate different functions (temperature, fan speed, and seat heating/cooling). The new rearview camera mirror eliminates blind spots, and wireless device charging has been added to the center console. Jaguar also has ditched the rotary shifter in favor of pistol-type shifter found in the F-Type and elsewhere, while surrounding it with a variety of controls, including a flipper switch to toggle among the car's different drive modes. A beefier steering wheel includes capacitive-touch switches. Newly designed seats, with standard leather, are claimed to be more comfortable, while redesigned door panels incorporate wider, softer armrests as well as increased storage capability. Base pricing climbs from $37,990 for the old rear-wheel-drive 20t to $40,895 (including destination) for the new P250. The AWD P250 is $42,894, while the P300 is $47,290. The 2020 Jaguar XE is on sale now. Related Video: