2001 Jaguar Xkr Base Convertible 2-door 4.0l on 2040-cars

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Jaguar envisions future without V8 engines

With tighter emissions and fuel economy regulations looming, Jaguar may have to do more than make a small, fuel-efficient hatchback to lower its model range's consumption figures - it also might give up its venerable V8 power, Drive reports. But not anytime soon, says Steven de Ploey, Jaguar's product and marketing director, who recognizes that the V8 can be replaced only by something that offers the same, or better, performance. But he has a word of caution: "We are not wedded to V8s."
In the meantime, de Ploey says there are other ways to reduce emissions. One of the first steps Jaguar could take is to shift away from the use of superchargers, which aren't as good as turbochargers at maintaining efficiency and making power. But he adds that supercharging still is "at the heart of Jaguar's performance proposition," and that the company has addressed the current downsizing trend by "replacing our naturally aspirated V8 with a 3.0-liter supercharged V6."
Consider one of de Ploey's comments on the cancelled C-X75 supercar (pictured) for some clue about Jaguar's future: "Some of the stuff we have already exploited to the extreme in the C-X75 is the kind of thinking for us and is an essential test bed to see how we could evolve from today to something that is sustainable in the future."

Autoblog Podcast #396

Episode #396 of the Autoblog Podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth, Steven Ewing, and Chris Paukert talk about the 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata, the 2016 Jaguar XE, and the 2015 Lexus RC. We start with what's in the garage and finish up with some of your questions, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Check out the rundown below with times for topics, and you can follow along down below with our Q&A. Thanks for listening!
Autoblog Podcast #396:
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Jaguar XK and F-Type meet for final sibling faceoff

There's nothing that real, dyed-in-the-wool car geeks love so much as to say "Old Car X is actually a lot better than New Car Y." For reasons that defy both logic and science, we all (your author included) are able to, almost simultaneously, bitch about needed advancements in current vehicles and then bemoan character lost in the next crop.
Mitsubishi Evo models have been supremely prone to this bifurcation of opinion in recent years (ask an Evo IX fanboy about the Evo X sometime... ), and performance cars wearing WRX, Mustang, and M3 badges have been deeply subject to it, as well.
The Jaguar XK and F-Type are not exactly in the same one-model, generational-changeover form as those mentioned above, but that doesn't mean that there aren't defenders of both the old dog and the new joint. Autocar seeks the truth of the matter in this new video, and we're just happy to come along for the ride. May the best sib win.