Plenty of SVR options for Jaguar XE

Jaguar will produce a hot XE sports sedan to take on BMW's M3 and the all-new Mercedes-Benz AMG C 63 sedan, but the big question is which engine will the Brit brand use?

Although its supercharged 5.0-litre V8 has been mooted, the real answer is not clear cut and depends on timing.

The all-new XE was unveiled in London this week. The mid-size looker is built on Jaguar's new “aluminium intensive” chassis and sized dead centre between BMW's 3 Series and Benz's new C-Class.

In terms of cooking-variety variants, it will take on the German pair, plus Audi's A4 and oriental premiums including Lexus IS and Infiniti Q50.

The XE also debuts Jaguar Land Rover's new engine family dubbed Ingenium. The modular engines feature a common 500cc cylinder architecture and will be built in both turbo-diesel and turbo-petrol variants.

Four-cylinder diesel and petrol engines are already a given and JLR insiders have all but confirmed a 3.0-litre Ingenium will bring inline sixes back to the Jaguar line-up.

What they're not talking about in more than general terms is the 4.0-litre V8 the range will also spawn.

Headlining the XE's London unveiling was a 250kW, 250km/h S model — powered by the existing non-Ingenium supercharged V6, but in the medium-term this will not be the fastest XE.

The new XE range will eventually include a stove-hot SVR version, a product of JLR's new performance division to take on the M3 and C 63.

Variously it has already been claimed the SVR XE will use a tweaked variant of the 404kW supercharged 5.0-litre V8 that features in the existing XFR-S, but the likely timing of the SVR version means we're not so sure…

Production of the mass-market XE models (2.0-litre turbo-diesel and turbo-petrol) does not seriously kick into gear until Q2 and Q3 of 2015.

Between then and now, Jaguar needs to roll out two turbo-diesels and two petrol powertrains, and then there's the minor matter of the company's first SUV, the production version of the CX-17 concept.

That brings the whole timeline perilously close to the debut of the all-new XF in early 2016. That car is the model expected to debut the Ingenium 3.0-litre six and 4.0-litre V8, spelling the end of the Jag's supercharged V6 and V8.

This scenario leaves precious little gap for the XE SVR. And it's even more crowded when you consider that while Jaguar will want ‘clear air' to launch the new XF, 2016 will also see the coupe variant of the XE ready for market.

All of these factors play into the powertrain choice for the hottest XE sedan and coupe.

So what's our bet?

Playing product planner, we reckon Jaguar's Special Vehicle Operations will time the debut of the hottest XE to correspond with the arrival of the coupe and therefore match BMW and Mercedes with two-door coupe and four-door sedan options.

And forget the V8 — we reckon the car will be powered by a 330-350kW turbo version of the Ingenium straight six, not unlike the downsized 3.0-litre turbo-six that powers BMW's new M4 and M4.

The idea of a stove-hot six in Jaguar's fastest ever mid-sizer appeals to many aspects of where the brand is positioning itself — not the least of which is a renewed embrace of its (largely) inline six-cylinder heritage.

Crucially, it also clears the way for a range-topping SVR version of the all-new alloy XF.

That car, powered by a 400-430kW variant of the new 4.0-litre Ingenium twin-turbo V8, will take the battle right up to the M5, E 63 AMG and RS 6, and will likely be the quickest road-going Jaguar ever, thanks to a standard AWD system and a 0-100km/h in the high three-second range.