Former Ford Group owned Jaguar and Land Rover are developing a series of hybrid models that will go on sale in Europe within the next five years. British magazine Autocar is reporting that the two carmakers that are now part of the Indian Tata Motors Group are developing two hybrid systems based around two new engines, a 3.0-liter V6 turbo diesel version of the current 2.7 V6 and the all-new 5.0-liter V8 petrol unit that’s expected sometime next year.

The highly anticipated Jaguar XF-R made its first official appearance at this past weekend’s Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK. Due to be unveiled in early 2009, the XF-R is Jaguar’s answer to the BMW M5, Audi RS6 and Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG models. Though official information is scarce for now, the XF-R is said to be equipped with a new direct injection, supercharged 5.0-litre V8 delivering a tad over 500Hp which should be good enough to offer a 0 to 100 km/h (62mph) sprint time of well under 5.0 seconds.