Jaguar announced in Beijing that two new engines will join the company’s global lineup: a turbocharged four-cylinder and a supercharged V-6. Both will be mated to eight-speed automatic transmissions, and should be more fuel efficient than the company’s existing range of V-8 engines.
The supercharged 3.0-liter V-6 is an all-aluminum, direct-injected engine that is derived from Jaguar’s existing 5.0-liter V-8. The engine will be offered in two power levels, 340 hp and 380 hp. It features an intercooler, 10.5:1 compression ratio, a stop-start system, dual variable valve timing, and a pair of counter-rotating balancers to make the V-6 as smooth as Jaguar’s V-8.
The 380 hp version will be the launch engine for the Jaguar F-Type (pictured), a new roadster announced at the New York auto show and scheduled to debut by summer 2013. That makes sense, as the Jaguar C-X16 concept that previewed the production F-Type used a hybrid drivetrain with a supercharged V-6 engine.
The second new engine is a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four. Good for 240 hp, the new-to-Jaguar engine is already on offer in corporate sibling Land Rover’s Range Rover Evoque. To make the turbo-four as quiet and refined as other Jaguar engines, it has twin balancer shafts, active engine mounts, and a sound-deadening engine cover.
Aside from the F-Type, Jaguar hasn’t yet said which of its models will receive these new forced-induction engines. The company promises the new engines will be more fuel efficient than the company’s V-8 mills, and will appear in “a number of Jaguar models in the future.” The XF and XJ sedans, as well as the XK coupe and convertible, will probably soon be made available with one of both of the new engines.
