Innovation or sacrilege ?!

 

i kind of want to do something like this in the future if they stop selling petrol. its something iv had to consider atleast - due to my generation - even if they never will. the future seems uncertain in that regard to me personally. so i have been considering it. i personally like the sound of the jaguar v8 is smooth and not obnoxious but at the same time...with electric cars becoming more normalised its something ive had to consider doing. i think at the moment its not worth worrying about but later on it may be something that gets done. i dont know maybe im just dumb and uneducated in this regard. personally i think its a shame to take away the heart of the car and replace it for something that wasnt designed/intended for it. but at the same time i see the possitives to it such as making the car future proof almost. i think its a mix of both Innovation and sacrilege as you describe it.

 

I'm wondering if it isn't inevitable.

 

Not for me

 

I find it intriguing. From a range perspective, I wonder if the x350 might be a better candidate as it’s already about 200lbs lighter with the aluminum body panels, though x308 purists might quibble with the design.

If this thing could be given 200-250 mile range and self-driving, sign me up! I’m already a hybrid driver (prius 5 for 8 years). I’ve tried out the lane-keeping function on deserted stretches of highway and it does reasonably well, though I never use it as a crutch, just to see how it works.

 

The only upside I see is maybe if they’re able to produce all this horsepower in electric cars they can start building them out of something more substantial than cheap flimsy plastic. I test drove a mini cooper the other day and I thought the cheap plastic chrome door handle was gonna break off in my hand when I opened the door.

 

color me impressed, the only great thing about the inevitable future, is the instant torque , and this application allows for more power (baby steps 6hp isn't much but its progress) in all shells. Can't wait to have something like 680whp without worrying too much about thermal dissipation(I.E superchargers both roots and centrifugal throw a lot of heat and turbos require a lot of piping which adds weight and complexity). A future where a base model x308 can keep up with a 2020 corvette with passengers on board(scare the girlfriend and family) is a very promising one. Extra points for future proofing the platform , and a little less greenhouse gasses(I love a good engine and exhaust combo as much as the next person but somethings gotta give). Maybe JLR will offer a one time powertrain turnin good towards whatever the upgrade would cost , perhaps they'll even add options like "Historically correct power figures(I.E 290whp/290wtq for xj8's)" and "Modern heart(I.E 500-800whp/tq). Here's to a bright future.
Even better if they can store the batteries where the old fuel cell and full-size spare were located, reusing the current fuel filler port.

 

i mean the boots massive i personally wouldnt mind filling that with batteries haha, may also give you move grip at the back, but then you gotta go front wheel drive OR put batteries in the front where the engine used to be and keep it rwd

i have no clue how big the bateries are and that probably shows...just a thought though

 

I'd much rather chop up a base XJ8 instead of the much harder to find XJR... find an xj8 with a blown motor for cheap, and keep the XJR intact. But that's just me. Maybe there was some kind of mechanical failure on the youtuber's XJR, I couldn't sit through the presentation enough to catch those details.

I think eventually EV everywhere will be the way things go...and at that point I'd much rather sit behind the dash of a classic XJ than the disappointments of many modern EV's (see: Tesla, any other car where the infotainment is a slapdash screen that sticks out instead of integrating into the dash design).

Not sure about the batteries in place of the full size spare, but I guess they've gotta go somewhere. Fuel tank is a bit high off the ground for that much weight. Still seems like it might mess with the weight distribution to put batteries in the full size spare area, but I don't know. Removing the fuel tank would be a decent expansion in trunk space though, maybe relocate the full size spare to there. How often do you get to say you have a full size spare in a sedan, let alone a spare at all in many modern cars?

 

honestly you summerised exactly what i feel about modern cars in general, and added some great insight
i find the cabin area on an old jag is just a better place to be than teslas or other modern cars. it just feels so relaxed and classy, shame most cars stopped trying to make their drivers feel special and swapped that for a bland black on black interior...nothing wrong with a black interior just not for me personally so i guess bland isnt the word id describe it as, just not for me...everything seems to be going a stealth-overly designed sleak dirrection lately and id just choose an older alternative personally...feels more comfortable. i dont know if that makes sense or not but what im saying is if the car keeps its characteristics i think it could be a pretty popular option (going EV) but yea i agree save a good few xjrs because when it came to getting my jag i couldnt find one lol so i got the next best thing. this does mean though that when EVs become more common i can rest easier knowing im not breaking apart a rarer performance model...couldnt do that personally.

 

at the end of the day it’s an old jag, who cares what you do to it

 

With many jurisdictions banning ICE vehicles after 2030, some not only the sale of, but USE of ICE within city limits, this is inevitable. Personally, I'd rather see them with EV drive trains than at the crusher.