Yet another Australian report concerning the Jaguar-Land Rover group has just come in. This time, it’s from Drive with information about Jaguar’s strategy regarding future engines and powertrains. The news is that they may ditch V8 engines and supercharging as the boost of choice if they will be constrained to do so by emissions and efficiency regulations.
“We are not wedded to supercharging as the defining technology to deliver performance,” said Jaguar’s product and marketing director, Steven de Ploey, and, during the same talk also mentioned that the firm had actually already taken steps to a more sustainable future.
Take the C-X75 supercar, for example, which in concept for, had gas turbines powering electric motors, then turning to a 502 hp 1.6-liter engine and boosted by electricity for the actual production car. They say it announces things that are to come in a decade’s time, and we could be lead into believing them, because we have heard rumors before…
Would Jaguar miss its V8s and blowers when it’s eventually forced by some overly-zealous acronym to let them go? I don’t think so, primarily because the most iconic noises ever made by any of their cars were those of six cylinders, arranged in a line. Sure, the new F-Type gets a modern supercharged V6, not a straight six, but it really does echo the old E-Type / XKE 3.8-liter, and that sounded great – the F-Type does too. They’ll be fine!
By Andrei Nedelea
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