Jaguar World Magazine XK8-R Special Issue June 08 Vorige editie

As I drove into the office this morning
the lead radio news story was the
record first quarter profits announced
by Shell and BP – some £3.9bn and
£3.315bn respectively. Bizarrely, both companies
claimed that those profits were largely due to the
rise in the price of crude oil, with the recent
steep climb in forecourt pump prices having
contributed little.
Make of that what you will…but there’s no
doubt that running a Jaguar at the moment is more
expensive than it has ever been, a point made to
me by some of the participants in this year’s London
to Brighton run. In fact, in the discussions I had with
several finishers, two key topics cropped up; the cost
of fuel, and the future of Jaguar under Tata ownership.
Views on the first topic were unanimous – fuel
prices are becoming ever more crippling – but
opinion on Tata’s ownership was split down the
middle between those who felt the new parent
company would cut costs, and those who felt it would
invest in Jaguar’s future. Personally, I fall into the latter
camp, and I hope I’m right as the one area that is
certainly in need of investment – specifically because
of those crippling fuel costs – is engine technology.
With an estimated 80% of UK orders for the XF
being for the diesel-engined model, it’s clear that the
success of Jaguar’s newest saloon is, for the time
being, reliant on the 2.7-litre twin-turbo V6 diesel
unit, an engine also available in the XJ. Yet that very
powerplant was first introduced in the 2004 S-TYPE.
It’s still a very accomplished engine, but technology
has moved on quickly since its introduction and, at
present, there’s no sign of Jaguar adding to its current
engine line-up – petrol or diesel. And that’s a worry.