Jaguar Land Rover could switch to BMW V8 power

Rumours have surfaced that suggest that Jaguar Land Rover is primed to switch from a Ford-sourced supercharged 5.0-litre V8 to BMW's twin-turbo 4.4-litre V8.

According to

First to receive the new engine is likely to be the all-new Jaguar F-TYPE that's due to arrive in 2020.

In standard form, the powerful German V8 produces 418kW, but in BMW performance models like the M5 super sedan this figure is boosted to almost 470kW.

Back in December 2017 it emerged that JLR was developing a pure-electric powertrain for the next Land Rover Defender and Jaguar F-TYPE and XJ, consisting of at least one electric motor backed by a powerful battery pack.

Likely to harness know-how accrued while developing the advanced Jaguar I-PACE electric SUV, the next-generation F-TYPE could share the battery-powered SUV's 500km range but produce significantly more than its 300kW/700Nm outputs.

It was suggested that the next-gen F-TYPE could ditch petrol power altogether but recently this theory was rebuffed by Jaguar chief designer, Ian Callum, who told US mag

Instead, Callum told reporters he wanted to create an additional electrified sports car featuring mid-mounted hybrid powertrain to take on the McLaren 570S and Audi R8.

It's thought such a car would blend the car-maker's supercharged V6 with electric motors from the I-PACE.

The next F-TYPE, meanwhile, is rumoured to morph from a two-seat coupe and roadster to a larger, roomier 2+2 grand tourer in a similar vein to the discontinued Jaguar XK.