It was just a couple of years ago that Jaguar announced its new Ingenium modular engine technology with the debut of a pair of 2.0-liter diesel-powered engines. The engines were first seen at the Detroit Auto Show and have proven to have excellent fuel economy, lower emissions output, and decent power output as well. So far, the family of engines has only included the pair of 2.0-liter diesels that deliver either 160 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque or 177 horsepower and 317 pound-feet of torque. Now, JLR is expanding the Ingenium family and has started production of some new gasoline-powered engines based on the same modular technology.

Much like the diesel-powered engines that came before them, these new engines are based on the 500 cc per cylinder architecture. JLR has yet to release specifics as for as overall engine size, but, if the new engines are of the four-cylinder variety, they will displace 2.0-liters while a V-6 or straight-six will displace 3.0-liters. The most likely at this point would be a straight-six engine as Jaguar previously announced that it was favoring the straight-six over the V-6.

For now, the most we know is that the engines will deliver 25-percent more power than the engines they replace and offer fuel savings of up to 15 percent in comparison. They are said to have an electrohydraulic valvetrain, twin-scroll turbochargers with ceramic bearings, and will have an integrated exhaust manifold, among other things. Nick Rogers, JLR’s Group Engineering Director, said, “Ingenium has been developed as a modular family of powerful, efficient and refined all-aluminum petrol and diesel engines. All Ingenium engines deliver benchmark low levels of friction, contributing to inherently good efficiency and refinement.”

These new engines have already moved into production and will be available starting in vehicles made for the 2017 model year. Expect to see four-cylinder versions of the gasoline-powered engines in the Jaguar F-Type and the Jaguar XE. Sources are indicating that the inline-six engine will deliver anywhere between 270 and 500 ponies and could find its first home in the Discovery SUV. But, news about these new gasoline-drinking mills isn’t all that Jaguar announced today. There’s a new transmission in development, but you’ll have to keep reading to learn more about that.

Continue reading for the full story.

The TRANSCEND Transmission

JLR has a strong commitment to the research to improving vehicle dynamics, emissions output, and overall economy on a wide scale. The TRANSCEND program aims to deliver a lightweight, eight-speed automatic transmission that is compact and can be used in longitudinal rear-wheel- and all-wheel-drive vehicles.

When speaking about TRANSCEND, Nick Rogers said, “TRANSCEND demonstrates Jaguar Land Rover’s commitment to original research that improves the driving experience and the environmental performance of our vehicles. It will make manoeuvring and off-road use easier than ever before for drivers whilst also improving on-road vehicle dynamics and CO2 emissions.”

For now, little is known about this new transmission, but it is said to weigh about 44 pounds less than the brand's current eight-cog unit and will use an “ultra-wide ratio spread” of 20, which is apparently double that of conventional eight-speed automatics. By the use of lighter components, and wider ratio spread, shifting should be smoother and more efficient, and we could also see improvement in fuel economy figures as a result too.

Conclusion

In the end, we still know little about the new gasoline engines or that TRANSCEND transmission, but the new Ingenium gasoline mills will be making their debut very soon in 2017 model vehicles. With emissions regulations getting harsher by the year, this kind of development is exactly what automakers need to invest their time and money into if the internal combustion engine is going to stick around for the foreseeable future. By further reducing emissions output, while increasing power output and fuel economy, it’s a fresh breath of air in a world that is constantly pushing alternative fuels.