Jaguar confirms F-type engines, XJ Ultimate at Beijing

Jaguar used the 2012 Beijing motor show to announce a raft of new engines - including details of the V6 which will power the F-type and news that a four-cylinder, Ford Ecoboost related petrol engine will be fitted to the XJ. It's downsizing to the maximum.

It also unveiled the £123,000 XJ Ultimate, the highest spec yet seen on its aluminium luxury car - replete with champagne cooler, a pair of massaging back seats and iPads for the rear passengers.

Click here for a 360 view (interior and exterior) of the Jaguar XJ Ultimate

The new 3.0-litre V6 shares some of its technology with Jaguar's own 5.0-litre V8, including direct injection, variable valve timing and aluminium construction. Yet despite the drop in capacity, supercharging means that the 3.0 V6 is in fact more powerful than the 5.0 in naturally aspirated spec.

The new quad-cam V6 announced in Beijing is bound for the XF and XJ saloons, but it'll also power the new F-type, Jaguar's newly announced sports car which will cost around £55,000 when it launches in early summer 2013 as a roadster to slot between the Porsches Boxster and 911.

The company has also confirmed the V8 will also be offered in the F-type.

Jaguar's new V6 comes in two states of tune, both supercharged by Rotex-type twin-vortex blowers: 375bhp/339lb ft or a lesser-boosted version developing 335bhp/332lb ft. The more powerful model is for the F-type, while the 335bhp version is what'll appear in Jaguar's saloon and estate range. It's powerful enough to send the XF or XJ to 60mph in 5.7sec.

Stop-start is standard on the new V6 in all its guises. It's a pretty high specific output; the F-type's V6 cranks out 125bhp per litre, a new record for a Jaguar production engine.

Also announced in Beijing is a new 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged engine bound for the XJ. Basically supplied by Ford, the new four-pot is the Ecoboost engine you'll find in a Mondeo and in this tune it generates 237bhp and 251lb ft. It replaces the unblown 3.0 V6 in both the XF and XJ.

The four-cylinder, and new V6s, will come with ZF's eight-speed automatic transmission. An important detail, this; it means that both engines can in theory be married to the hybrid module that Jaguar is working on; partner Land Rover will launch hybrid tech first, but Jaguar won't be far behind.

Click here for a 360 view (interior and exterior) of the Jaguar XJ Ultimate

By Tim Pollard