Plans to add a diesel engine to the current Jaguar XK are still being championed by some parts of the company, according to senior sources closely associated with the project.
Around 20 prototype diesel XKs have been built and tested, but the project was thought to have been canned because of reservations about the potential success of the model.
Arguments made against an XK oil-burner include the fact that it could cannibalise sales of the petrol XK in Europe, and that diesel power may sit oddly with Jaguar’s sportiest model, despite the considerable success of the diesel BMW 6-series.
The project’s supporters argue that while a diesel XK would take sales from the petrol version, XK sales are significantly down and they would benefit from a new variant — especially one that significantly increases the cost-effectiveness of the car. The recent acclaimed update of Jaguar’s twin-turbo 3.0 V6 diesel, which now has 271bhp, would make an oil-burning coupé still more credible.
It remains likely that the next generation of XK, due in 2013, will offer a diesel version from launch. In that car, which will be lighter than the current version, the engine could achieve a sub-5.0sec 0-60mph time. It would also help boost production to 10,000 to 12,000 units per year.
Richard Bremner
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Re: Jaguar XK diesel 'still possible'
I can understand where you're coming from. You speak of diesel prices being lower than petrol: where I am, the lowest I've ever seen diesel is exactly the same as petrol, but it's usually 3-4p a litre more expensive than petrol, which puzzles me as, although you claim petrol is cheaper to refine, it's actually a more complex process. Yes, if I bought a diesel, I would probably miss the revs - I've driven various BMW straight-sixes, I've driven a Honda S2000, and I love the noises both make (although the Honda is very harsh, and I couldn't live with it). However, in the real world, with turbocharged thump, I suspect diesel would make more sense. Diesel need no longer be a dirty word. Yes, the particulate emissions are a cause for concern, but the car makers and the oil companies are working together to reduce them. As for performance/sound, you'll find if you drive a Range Rover that although the diesel V8 is significantly slower than the supercharged petrol one (and probably the naturally aspirated petrol one as well), not only is it more economical but even Clarkson and Hammond on Top Gear admitted, both owning them, that the diesel actually sounds better than the petrol. I would also venture that the offbeat roar of Audi's V12 is a magnificent noise, somewhere between an old American V8 and an ur-Quattro... and you should try some of the old 2-stroke diesels for sound. OK, so they belch out hideous amounts of smoke, but they make the most wonderful howl.
P. S. As for salesmen, I can't speak for now, but when my parents bought a used E46 318i Touring eight years ago, they were also looking at a 320D and the salesman - the same man who had sold them a used E30 318i Touring seven years before - asked them about their driving habits, mileage, etc, and pronounced that we should not buy the diesel, as most of the time it would never warm through enough to get up to the kind of economy that people buy diesels for. My parents admit now that, having bought an E39 520i Touring recently, they should have bought an older E39 back then, and the 318i E46 is dreadfully slow on 0-10mph - once it's above that, it's moderately quick, but hauling its 1440kg off the line is a bit of a challenge with only 118bhp... that's the other reason people buy diesels. Torque. Simple as. They don't have to thrash their cars like you do with a peaky, revvy petrol engine.
Re: Jaguar XK diesel 'still possible'
I saw several times in Le Mans the Diesel winning. I don’t deny their efficiency.
But which sadness to lose the music of the engines. This is an integral part of the motorsport.
A petrol is less expensive to produce. The gap gets even bigger with the Euro 6 standard. The petrol is even slightly cheaper in refinery.
I drove several recent Diesel (BMW for instance). I don’t deny the qualities and the enormous progress of these engines. They are often superior than the petrol in terms of compromise between performances and consumption. Their compromise is even often better than the hybrids one (it is necessary to say it).
A question remains; a minor portion of the emitted particles persists in spite of the particles filter.
Living in an ultra Diesel country (my poor English betraying me), my comments were a little bit provocating. I’m not naïve. I know enough automotive.
The medium and premium petrol cars are disappearing almost in term of volumes in Europe.
I find (apparently, I have to be the last one of this specimen), that a good petrol engine will always have an upper enjoyment (I don't speak about the performances, but about the way of getting them) than a Diesel one: the range of use, the refinement and the sound. It’s true, I’ve kept my child opinion.
On prestigious coupés like the Jaguar XK, it's a pity to arrive there. And we shall see on the roads practically only Diesel XK in a few years. The Diesel became now in Europe an obligation to be able to sell medium and premium cars, and even prestigious ones..
What I find it's a pity and which amplifies the phenomenon, it’s that here we are practically forced to buy a Diesel without objective reasons:
- artificially strong resale values compared to the petrol ones,
- a price of the Diesel artificially lower than the petrol at the pump,
- great incitements of the salesmen to buy Diesel (we are supposed to be crazy to want petrol cars),
- petrol cars almost unavailable to test.
I understand naturally people who buy Diesel. But, with these incitements, we arrive nowadays at a car market with about 75% of Diesel. I think that it’s necessary to vary fuels. I'm for the variety. Many persons buy Diesel without making the slightest profitability calculation.
Moreover, the ecological bonuses facilitated the sale of numerous Diesel without particles filters.
Long live the variety! And think at the pleasures of the petrol before buying your Diesel!
(With my annual mileage, I'll maybe buy a BMW...Diesel).
Re: Jaguar XK diesel 'still possible'
Sorry that should read "heart." What is wrong with me today.