Hybrid Jaguars leaping out in two years time, XJ is first

Jaguar plans to introduce hybrid variants of the XJ, XF and the XK, expected to hit the market by 2013-2014. This comes after sister company Land Rover announced similar plans starting with the hybrid Range Rover Sport in 2013.

Apparently, the XJ limo will be the first cat to house the new hybrid system as big cars reap more hybrid benefits and can more easily swallow the premium, which is said to be about £10,000.

About 100 engineers in the 18-month old hybrid powertrain division of Tata owned Jaguar-Land Rover (JLR) are working on the first prototype of the drivetrain, which consists of a 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel working in tandem with a 35kW electric motor and a new ZF eight-speed automatic transmission. The transmission can be fitted to any JLR model with a north-south (longitudinal) layout.

The first JLR hybrids will be diesel-electric, but petrols (which are less complicated to engineer) will follow. JLR is also researching Chevy Volt style range-extending hybrids, where a combustion engine functions to charge the battery.