Jaguar Land Rovers to be powered by BMW V8s

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) will share the costs of developing a new range of turbocharged V8 engines with BMW, a new report has revealed.

Automobile magazine claims that the huge costs of developing a V8 and the limited global demand for large-capacity petrol engines has meant designing, engineering and manufacturing V8s alone is no longer viable.

That's why JLR will partner with BMW to create an all-new 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 that will produce anything from 350 to 450kW.

The new V8 -- to be used for high-end Range Rovers and Jaguars, including SVR models -- will also help the BMW Group, internally, justify replacing its current 4.4-litre V8.

Forcing JLR's hand, says the US car magazine, is the Indian-owned car-maker's decision to switch to inline six-cylinder engines.

If it had included a V6 as part of the Ingenium engine family it would have been far more cost effective to spin-off a V8 from the bent six.

There's no word when the new family of V8 engines might arrive, but they're expected before 2020.