Jaguar Land Rover has confirmed its supercharged V8 will live on despite Ford preparing to shut the factory where it is built.
The 5,0-litre, eight-cylinder engine is currently produced by the Blue Oval brand at its Bridgend plant. However, this factory is set to close in September 2020.
According to Autocar, Jaguar Land Rover will move the production equipment to its West Midlands site and continue producing the V8 itself.
“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,” the company said in a statement issued to Autocar.
According to the report, the Bridgend factory has recently been building the V8 at a “higher rate than required” to give Jaguar Land Rover sufficient time to move the equipment.
The V8 is used in various Jaguar Land Rover products, including the F-Type R, F-Pace SVR, Velar SVAutobiography and various Range Rover and Range Rover Sport derivatives.
The publication’s sources suggest the supercharged engine will live on for the next “three to five years”. Thereafter, the company is expected to start using BMW’s V8 engine under a new deal.
