Jaguar Land Rover will once again develop its own engines

The new engine plant of Jaguar Land Rover in Wolverhampton, United Kingdom, already has a start date for its activity. It will be in 2014 when these facilities, whose construction has cost more than 553 million euros, begin producing an engine designed by the British company, as confirmed by JLR’s head of engineering, Wolfgang Ziebart, in statements to Automotive News.

The first block to come out of Wolverhampton will be a four-cylinder fuelled by diesel. A year and a half later the next one will be ready: another four-cylinder engine, but petrol and turbocharged. Although JLR has not revealed many details about them, it is known from leaks and company reports that their most notable feature is their small displacement, as they will be around two litres.

Other priorities in the development of these new engines have been minimising their weight and incorporating the technologies typical of modern blocks, such as direct injection or the variable valve timing system. Their size and design make them very likely candidates to renew the engine ranges of the Land Rover Freelander and Range Rover Evoque, as well as to be among the options available on the future D-segment saloon of Jaguar.

In the interview, Ziebart added that Jaguar Land Rover is considering assigning Wolverhampton a third petrol engine, a three-cylinder of around 1,500 cc. However, the engineers must first ensure that it delivers performance similar to the four-cylinder block. In any case, the launch of the new plant is a milestone for JLR on its path towards independence. Jaguar had not produced its own engine since 1997, when Ford closed the Radford plant in Coventry. The last of Land Rover was the Td5, launched in 1998.

Via | Automotive News