JLR’s Ingenium engines are very expensive for the
segment Tata Motors wants to field the Tata Harrier. However, should a JTP or
some other performance variant see the light of the day, it could sport the
British-engineered motor. That’s according to a report from Autocar India.
Tata Motors originally planned to use one of JLR’s
Ingenium engines in India in the Tata Safari Storme, Tata Hexa and Tata
Harrier. The projected volume to make a business case was 100,000 units, but it
seemed unrealistic. Locally manufacturing the engine for small volumes isn’t
feasible, while importing is out of the question.
With the plan to employ a JLR-developed Ingenium
engine scrapped, Tata Motors started looking for another solution and
approached FCA eventually. The company has inked a deal with the Italo-American
automaker to source its 2.0-litre MultiJet II diesel engine, which is made in
140 PS and 170 PS versions.
The report states that an Ingenium engine finding
its way to the Tata Harrier is still a possibility, in a potential performance
variant. Tata Motors might consider the 240 PS 2.0-litre Ingenium diesel engine
for this SUV.
As exciting as the latest development may sound, it
will be a surprise to us to see the Ingenium engine used on a 'T' badged
vehicle. That’s because any given Ingenium diesel engine is expensive for a
Tata Motors model for the tech it offers, and on the top of that, the 240 PS
version is a twin-turbocharged unit and the most powerful Ingenium diesel
engine, and it looks like a lot for even the biggest SUV - the upcoming H7X.
The 240 PS Ingenium diesel engine is available in
the Land Rover Discovery, Range Rover Velar, Jaguar XE, Jaguar XF and Jaguar
F-Pace, and JLR introduced it in the Range Rover Evoque with the first lifecycle
makeover just last month. We don’t see Tata Motors putting this engine into
production for the foreseeable future.
