F-Type SVR Coupe

Make
Jaguar
Segment
Coupe

Engine downsizing is nothing new and the trend is guaranteed to continue. Adding hybrid boost to an internal combustion engine, especially in high performance cars, is also something we'll continue to see. But what about conventional V8s? Do they have a future? The UK's Car Magazine reports that Jaguar design chief, the great Ian Callum, spoke recently to design students at his alma mater, Coventry University, and this very subject was brought up.

Speaking from ownership experience, Callum acknowledged that "The process of autonomy is a given." However, he still thinks "there will be a place for V8s. Because there will be so few of them, the fuel they burn will be a drop in the ocean. I only do 200-300 miles a year in my V8 hot rod, for instance." In other words, V8s, according to Callum's prediction, will become more of a specialty and not something mainstream. He may be right. "The challenge for us all is this: How do you create a seamless journey with new technology, while still holding on to the things Jaguar owners find important? In any given journey, part might be in a beautiful limo, part in a train, part in a driverless pod.

We need to figure out Jaguar's role in that." That all said, it's good to know Jaguar hasn't completely given up on the V8. Remember, Jaguar Land Rover builds some of the best V8s in the business today, specifically the supercharged 5.0-liter with nearly 600 hp in the F-Type SVR.