Topping the range of diesel engines in Range Rover and Range Rover Sport we find today a 4.4 V8 Diesel , with 340 hp and 740 Nm, but apparently, according to the latest information, will soon be replaced by a new six-cylinder unit supported by a mild-hybrid (semi-hybrid) 48 V system.
There is still no official confirmation by Land Rover, but according to Autocar, interestingly, information was published about the new generation of diesel engines by car suppliers.
The new six-cylinder block — most likely in-line, extending the Ingenium engine family, which already houses three-cylinder petrol, four-cylinder petrol and diesel, and in-line six-cylinder petrol blocks — will come in two versions. D300 and D350.
It will be the D350 version that can take the place of the current 4.4 V8 Diesel, or SDV8. The “350” in D350 refers to the power rating of the new unit, supplanting the power of the V8 by 10 hp. The torque value, according to information provided by the suppliers, however, will be 700 Nm. A generous value, but slightly lower than the 740 Nm of the 4.4 V8 Diesel.
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More important than power and torque, the raison d'être of this unit will, of course, be obtaining lower values of CO2 emissions when compared to 4.4 V8 Diesel . Everything points to them being between 210 g/km in the Range Rover Sport and 225 g/km in the Range Rover, values around 20% lower than the approximately 280 g/km of the 4.4 V8 Diesel.
4.4 V8 Diesel
The engine used in the SDV8 versions started production (in Mexico) 10 years ago, and it is one of the last links between Ford and Jaguar Land Rover. Its origins date back to when Ford and PSA entered into a joint venture to develop a family of diesel engines.
Known as the engine family Lion — identified as DT17/20 or AJD-V6 in Jaguar and Land Rover — comprise the 2.7 V6 (2004) and later 3.0 V6 (2009) blocks that fitted several French and British models. It was from this base that the first V8 Diesel, with 3.6 l, produced in the United Kingdom from 2006 was developed.
However, the development and production of the 4.4 V8 Diesel (2010), despite deriving from the Lion family, is the sole responsibility of Ford, with Jaguar Land Rover being the only one to benefit from the services of this unit.
The arrival of the new six-cylinder Diesel should mean the end of the 4.4 V8 Diesel in Jaguar Land Rover and there is nothing to indicate that they can return to this configuration in the future.
It's not the only V8 to disappear from Jaguar Land Rover's catalogues. THE 5.0 V8 Gasoline (AJ-V8) will see its production completed during this year. Its place will be taken by a new twin turbo V8 — the 5.0 is supercharged via a compressor — but of German origin. Jaguar Land Rover and BMW have formed several cooperation agreements which also include the supply of the 4.4 V8 twin turbo.
Source: Autocar.
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