While most top-end carmakers are downsizing, ditching V12s for V8s, Jaguar is planning to do away with its V6s.
According to Autocar, the British manufacturer will stop offering the 3.0-litre V6 in the XE and XF, while other models in the range could also lose the engine too, such as the XJ and F-Pace crossover. Thankfully the V6 F-Type – said by many to be the pick of the crop – will survive for now at least.
The news, while sad, shouldn't be a surprise. In the UK, only two percent of XF and XE sales are V6s. What's more, ever-tightening European emissions regulations will have no doubt also played a part in the decision.
In the UK, the S variant of the two sports saloons will be replaced by new 300 Sport models according to reports. They'll come with a 2.0-litre turbocharged four cylinder engine which producing 296bhp – 84 less than the outgoing V6. A new inline six based on the turbo four pout is also said to be in development.
Losing the V6 isn't the only go-faster Jaguar option set for the chopping block. With the emergence of Jaguar Land Rover''s SVR performance sub-brand, its famed R badge is set to be shelved.
Following the reveal of the the F-Pace SVR, SVO design director Wayne Burgess has admitted that there isn't enough room in Jaguar's lineup for both R and SVR models. 'There is not enough room in each model line to have an R and an SVR,' Burgess told weekly news magazine Auto Express. 'We have found F-Type R and F-Type SVR kind of compete against each other.'
Jaguar Land Rover has yet to comment on the possibility of it axing the V6 engine.
Gallery: 2017 Jaguar XF
