Official: Jaguar Will Now Produce its 5.0-liter V8 In-House

By John Coyle - September 14, 2020

A UK plant closure left the future of Jaguar’s AJ V8 in doubt. Now we know what’s happening with it.

Ford sold Jaguar to Tata Motors over a decade ago. But when it comes to production, the Blue Oval cast a long shadow, as the 5.0-liter V8 which powers many Jaguar Land Rover products is still produced at Ford’s plant in Bridgend, Wales. So when the American company announced last June that it planned to shutter the facility, the future of the engine was unclear. Now, we know what’s going to happen with it, and unlike so much of what’s happened this year, it’s good news.

Jaguar officials recently told our friends over at Autocar that “Manufacture of the JLR-designed V8 petrol engines previously made at Bridgend will move to the JLR Engine Manufacturing Centre, with further detail to be confirmed at a later date.” While the industry is seeing a shift away from large-displacement engines to smaller, turbocharged units, the article goes on to state that production is expected to continue for up to five years, and that some of the workers from the Bridgend facility may be offered positions at the Manufacturing Centre.

Given the cloud that Brexit — not to mention coronavirus — has cast over the UK’s economy, any jobs which are able to be saved will surely come as welcome news.

For the time being, the announcement means we won’t see a shift to BMW-produced V8 engines, as has been rumored. On the forum, the idea of a Jaguar with a BMW mill under the bonnet hasn’t exactly been super popular, as the German company isn’t exactly known for making the best V8s. For those curious, a quick Google search will turn up loads of videos, forum threads, and articles where people bash on Bimmer’s mills.

Of course, you can cherry pick info about any manufacturer. Look hard enough, and you can find someone who got a lemon from Toyota. But having spent 15 years in the automotive industry, I have to say the gloomy opinion on the Motoren Werke’s power plants lines up with what I’ve heard from friends and associates. So if I had my way, and I got to pick where Jaguar outsourced a V8 from? I would rather see it follow Aston Martin’s lead, and tap the folks at Mercedes-Benz. Because they’re worlds better reliability wise, and in my humble opinion, still sound like the business.

We’re sure to have more information about which direction Jaguar Land Rover will go in regard to future V8 engines in the coming months. But until then, check of the video below to hear some some positively nasty sounds from the current AJ mill. Just keep your fingers crossed its replacement sounds as good…

Photos: Jaguar