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Mighty Six Returns To Jag's Flagship



On one hand, it wasn't all that long ago that Jaguar was building its flagship luxury sedan, the XJ, with 12 cylinders underhood. If we're being honest, there's always been something sort of magical about cars that play the dozen, even if weight distribution and, indeed, performance, haven't always made them terribly sensible. If we're being equally frank, we've also reacted largely with enthusiasm to the trend of downsized forced-induction engines needling their way into ever larger and more premium sheetmetal. So here we are, at the intersection of past and future, and Jaguar has finally responded to the small-is-the-new-big trend by nestling a new 3.0-liter supercharged six-cylinder engine between the fenders of its largest sedan. In fact, it's gone even further, adding a 2.0-liter four-cylinder to the aluminum-bodied luxocrat, but most markets (including ours) won't see that particular model.

The X351-generation XJ has been a known quantity since 2010, and here in the States, the mold-breaking saloon has only been available with a 5.0-liter V8 in either naturally aspirated or supercharged form. But six-cylinder XJs are hardly new - in fact, Jag has offered the current generation with a 3.0-liter six overseas for some time now, but it's a diesel. And lest we forget, the company offered a six-cylinder XJ in every generation up until this one, stretching back all the way to the original 1968 Series One. Of course, Jaguar won't be resurrecting the XJ6 moniker for this new 3.0 liter, and instead of an inline cylinder configuration as before, this new engine is a V6.

Jag officials at the launch of the 2013 XJ were refreshingly frank in admitting that not having a smaller engine than a V8 anywhere in its U.S. lineup the past few years has hurt both the brand's consideration and its fleet fuel economy numbers. This 3.0-liter is the first step towards renovating and broadening the brand's powertrain menu as it looks to keep pace with the usual suspects (Audi has just plopped a six in the A8 and BMW did the same last year with its 7 Series. If you want the joy of six in a Mercedes-Benz S-Class, you'll have to go hybrid or diesel). One other Jaguar programming note: A previously confirmed all-wheel-drive system is coming shortly as well, but that's a bit further down the pipe - this V6 is the main event for the moment in both its XJ and XF sedans.

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2013 Jaguar XJ V6 originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 02 Oct 2012 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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