Jaguar Land Rover powertrain engineers at the company’s Whitley and Gaydon development facilities based Ingenium’s foundation on strong and compact aluminium blocks for both diesel and gasoline versions.

These lightweight blocks share the same bore, stroke, cylinder spacing and 500cc cylinder capacity. This helps give Ingenium the configurability and flexibility around which smaller or larger engines can quickly and efficiently be developed to meet future regulatory and competitive requirements. To support the development of this future powertrain technology, including the new Ingenium family, Jaguar Land Rover has invested £40 million (US$68 million) to expand and enhance its Powertrain Engineering facility at the Whitley Technical Centre.

All diesel and gasoline Ingenium variants will be equipped with advanced turbochargers that improve performance, particularly at low speeds, and that help reduce consumption and CO₂ emissions.

Ingenium’s modular design enables both gasoline and diesel engines to share many common internal components and calibration strategies. This reduces complexity, raises quality and simplifies manufacturing, and allows Jaguar Land Rover to react more quickly to changes in global demand.

One strategy Jaguar Land Rover powertrain engineers used to accomplish their design goals was a focus on reducing internal friction. In the first Ingenium engine to go into volume production, a 2.0-liter diesel known as AJ200D, friction is reduced by 17% compared to the current engine, helping to make it one of the most efficient and responsive 2.0-liter turbo diesels in its segment.

Ingenium engines feature six key technologies that combine to reduce friction, add refinement and improve performance. They include:

• Roller bearings on cam and balancer shafts, instead of machined-in bearing surfaces.

• Computer-controlled variable oil pumps that save energy by delivering the optimum amount of oil at all speeds, engine loads and temperatures.

• Computer-controlled variable water pumps that adjust the amount of coolant flowing through the engine, based on temperature, speed and driving conditions. The split or twin circuit cooling system offers the twin benefits of lowering CO₂ emissions by enabling fast warm ups, and providing quick cabin heat on cold days.

• Simplified cam drive system designed for modular application.

• Electronically controlled piston cooling jets to improve efficiency in the oil pumping circuit. Jets are switched off when piston cooling is not needed. They also enable the engine to reach its optimum operating temperature faster, further helping to reduce CO₂ emissions.

All Ingenium engines will be equipped with advanced and efficient turbochargers, central direct high-pressure fuel injection, variable valve timing and start-stop technology.

Before the first Ingenium engine is sold, it will have already undergone the equivalent of more than eight years of testing, including a range of integrity and durability testing incorporating more than 72,000 hours of dyno testing and 2 million miles of real-world testing.

The introduction of Ingenium unites the company’s light-weight chassis expertise with powertrains specifically designed and calibrated to complement reduced weight vehicles. Jaguar Land Rover engineers are focusing on reducing vehicle weight by optimizing every component in every system, powertrains included. Despite adding features and increasing power output, Ingenium engines weigh as much as 80 kg (176 lbs) less than today’s equivalent engines.

The Engine Manufacturing Centre near Wolverhampton is the first new plant that Jaguar Land Rover has built from the ground up. The site represents an investment of more than £500 million (US$856 million) and will create almost 1400 new jobs by the time the plant reaches full capacity.