Jaguar XFR powered by 5-litre V8 engine
Jan 12 2009 by Chris Russon
The new breed of supercar developed by Jaguar will be powered by one of the biggest V8 engines in the world.
The five-litre supercharged V8 will make its debut in the sensational XFR – a high performance version of the saloon which has transformed Jaguar’s fortunes.
It had a blockbuster premiere at the North American Auto Show in Detroit on Sunday alongside new versions of the XKR coupe and convertible also powered by the monster engine.
Jaguar was in bullish mood as programmes director Mick Mohan announced: “We are putting the fast back into Jaguar design.”
He said the new engine underlined the ‘unique, independent spirit’ which now defined the Jaguar brand.
Despite the economic woes which have caused turmoil in the global auto industry, Jaguar has bucked the trend by posting an eight per cent sales increase in 2008.
Jaguar managing director Mike O’Driscoll said that Jaguar Land Rover’s massive investment in R&D was now paying off.
He said: “Together with Land Rover, Jaguar invests more than £400million on research and development.
“At a corporate level, we’ve committed more than £800million specifically to the research and development of new environmental technologies.
“Our investment in recent years has helped us bring cars to market that are bucking the downward trend.”
He added that Jaguar was now spending more developing advanced automotive technology than any other company in Britain.
The XFR and XKR have been designed in Coventry by Jaguar’s design chief Ian Callum and his team and are built at Castle Bromwich in Birmingham.
The new V8 was also developed in-house by Jaguar in the Midlands and will be built in Bridgend in South Wales.
It is one of two new performance engines Jaguar has developed for its cars.
Earlier this month it announced a new three-litre diesel engine for the XF to be built at Ford’s engine plant at Dagenham in Essex.
Fitted in the XF, the new diesel will almost match the performance of the current 4.2-litre supercharged V8 petrol engine which is to be discontinued in UK models. The new engines will also be used by Land Rover in the latest versions of the Range Rover and Discovery.
More importantly, the new generation of Jaguars can outperform established super sports saloons such as Mercedes AMG models and V10 BMWs.
Although it may not appear to be politically correct in times where gas-guzzling engines have almost become pariahs, Jaguar is claiming its new engine is the most efficient V8 in the world.
In America, where the XF has been an absolute hit, the XFR will fill a niche among enthusiasts who crave large high performance cars. It is also likely to
