Today's NTimes had a nice article about the new XJ8. However, the article said the new 5.0 AJ-V8 Gen III is sourced from Ford (!). I don't have a problem with that, but it is it true? Or is this so-called Gen III actually an evolution of the venerable AJ-V8.

FYI-I have a '04 XJ-8...just passed 160K miles and running strong.

thx,

relinuca

 

That's good news - my 04 only has 40K on it so lots of life left.

Re the engine - I believe the bottom end of the v8 can trace it's roots back to the Ford/Lincoln v8.

 

Yes, it is a Ford sourced engine. Jaguar has a contract with Ford to supply the engines through 2019. The new Jaguars with the 5 LTR engine is selling so well, Ford is having a hard time keeping up the supply.

 

Remember that Jaguar is now owned by Tata Motors of India, and as the new XJ was developed before their ownership, the engines have to come from Ford for the foreseeable future, until Tata can develop their own. Don't forget that the V6 diesel engine development was shared with other car manufacturers

 

Just to clarify, the AJ-V8 Gen III engine was designed by Jaguar engineers at Whitley but it is built by Ford as they used to own Jaguar and obviously have more resources to do the job.