25 Years of the Jaguar V8

By the end of the 1980s, it was becoming clear that the weight of the V12 was just too much, plus its enormous physical size was hampering car design, particularly for crash performance where there was a need for some crumple zone at the front rather than solid engine. The V12 engine was revolutionary but in the 1980s the labour-intensive assembly and expensive parts were costing the company more than it was making. For the last years of the XJS, the V12 was not even on the official brochures; it was only its legend that was keeping sales alive. The AJ6 and AJ16 six-cylinder engines were making almost the same power and saved about 120kg, which made a huge difference to the cars handling – but even this engine was showing its age.

There had been various ideas for a V8 from the engineers at Browns Lane for some time, but none of the proposals were acted upon for one reason or another. Usually, it was shortage of funds, but also the lack of capacity to test and build a new unit. However, in 1989 the idea for a V8 was considered once more and this time it was looked at favourably by new owners Ford. A great deal of credit for the Jaguar V8 must go to the late Clive Ennos, then Jaguar Engineering Director, who convinced Ford that Jaguar should have its own V8 (AJ-V8) engine and not a modified or derived Ford example. Although the parent company had V8s of its own, it didn’t press Jaguar to adopt a Ford-designed unit. This was Jaguar’s first V8 and only the fourth all-Jaguar engine. Chief Engineer for the V8 was David Szczupak, who had joined Jaguar from Holset in 1985. He later explained that Jaguar had spoken at length to engineers on the Ford Romeo project, the new four-cylinder Ford Sigma engine and the Cleveland V6 engine. They picked the best ideas and designed a new V8 powertrain in close consultation with the manufacturing side of the business. The engine was being tailor-made for the new X100 (XK8) and was also to replace the AJ6/16 in the saloon in due course. Ford had confidence in Jaguar’s engine team and in August 1993, agreed a budget of €200 million for the engine, which included €100 million for the building and equipping of a purposebuilt facility alongside Ford’s own engine base at Bridgend. So, in 1997, eight years after the project started, the first XK8s were sold with the all-new, entirely Jaguar, DOHC 32 valve V8 engines. A new era had begun.

The Jaguar AJ-V8 was available in displacements ranging from 3.2L to 4.2L. A supercharged version was added in 2002. Ford also used this engine in other cars, including the Lincoln LS and the 20022005 Ford Thunderbird, as well as in several Land Rovers, and the Aston Martin V8 Vantage.

Initially the AJ-V8 used Nikasil-coated cylinders rather than the more-common iron cylinder liners. However, like the BMW M60, high-sulphur fuel reacted with the Nikasil coating and caused engine failures. Jaguar replaced affected engines, and has used conventional castiron linings ever since. Most, if not all the early V8’s has had problems with the upper timing chain tensioners. These issues are well documented and almost certainly the upper and lower tensioners/slippers have now been replaced on most Jaguars with more durable replacements.

An all-new direct injection 5.0 L engine family was introduced in 2009 (all new engine block). Now featuring: sprayguided direct-injection, continuously variable intake and exhaust camshaft timing. The naturally aspirated engines also feature cam profile switching and variable track length inlet manifold. Supercharged engines make use of a sixth-generation TVS (Twin Vortices Series) supercharger. The engine is controlled by Denso’s Generation 1.6 Engine Management System.

Ford ceased production of the AJ-V8 engine in September 2020 when it closed the Bridgend Plant. However, in August 2020 JLR took over production means for the AJ-V8. .

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