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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 reportedly prepping fully electric F-Pace

Tesla might want to take a look over its shoulder because there could be a cat catching its Model X in a few years. Jaguar reportedly has a fully electric vehicle under development that is possibly based on the upcoming F-Pace crossover, and it could be on sale in Europe as soon as 2018. Autocar cites anonymous "well-placed industry sources" as the foundation for the rumor and believes that Jag's future CUV would be the most likely recipient of the new powertrain. The battery electric technology would reportedly be shared with the brand's partners at Land Rover to keep costs down, and a range of around 300 miles would be the target. The F-Pace is reportedly already being prepped with a number of drivetrain options. JLR's latest 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder and supercharged 3.0-liter V6 are likely choices. However, a hybrid version is rumored, as well. JLR has been taking baby steps towards electrification for quite some time. Perhaps the biggest example was the introduction of the Range Rover Hybrid, but Land Rover has also been rumored to have an EV version of its flagship SUV under development too. The company already tested several electric Defenders, as well. From Jaguar's camp, the automaker recently trademarked the EV-Type name in the US and Europe, and its C-X75 concept had a very interesting hybrid system. The reason for all of this EV development from the Brit brands is to adhere to constricting emissions rules around the world, according to Autocar. The EU is moving to real world testing possibly as soon as 2017, and US regulators continue to work towards cleaning up the cars here, too. News Source: Autocar Green Jaguar Land Rover Emissions Crossover Electric Luxury jaguar land rover jaguar f-pace jlr

Jaguar says F-Type sales off to flying start

As we noted in our recent first drive, Jaguar's luscious new F-Type roadster is a bit of a tweener in both size and cost, lining up in between rival Porsche's Boxster and 911. That one-for-two-segment strategy is showing early signs of paying off, with Automotive News reporting that half of the car's 2014 production allotment is already sold. We're not talking huge numbers - sports cars in this segment only "have a global annual volume of about 75,000 units and a market share of 0.1 percent," notes Jaguar brand director Adrian Hallmark. Yet the company figures the F-Type will work out to about 15 to 20 percent of its total volume of around 60,000 units.
From where we sit, this is all very encouraging news, but it's way too early to call the F-Type a smash hit. The sports car segment is known for its fickleness and its front-loaded sales curve, so the real measure of success will be how it fares over the next few years after early adopters get their cars. Jaguar will have to work to keep the F-Type fresh with new variants, and we hear it's prepared to do just that. The British luxury marque hasn't confirmed a hardtop coupe variant yet, but patent images and spy shots suggest one is on the way shortly, and it ought to extend the model's appeal greatly. A four-cylinder option and a manual transmission have also been rumored, and presumably Jaguar will eventually launch higher-performance R and R-S variants as it has done with various model lines, including its other sporty two door, the XK grand tourer.