# Settle a bet: Jaguar V-16 Engine? **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Tags:** jaguar, xj12\ **Created:** [May 10, 2010, 11:30am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/settle-a-bet-jaguar-v-16-engine/48630 "2010-05-10T11:30:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mleich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71c47a/32.png) [@mleich](https://community.cartalk.com/u/mleich)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 11:30am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/settle-a-bet-jaguar-v-16-engine/48630/1 "2010-05-10T11:30:27Z")
A friend insists that Jaguar made a car in the 1980’s with a V-16. I only remember a V-12. V-16’s haven’t been made since the 1930’s, right? I can find a Cadillac V-16 using a web search but no Jag. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 12:13pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/settle-a-bet-jaguar-v-16-engine/48630/2 "2010-05-10T12:13:37Z")
You are right, and your friend is wrong. The Jag V-12, which was essentially two of their straight sixes put together in a V format, allowed the use of many existing components. ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 2:12pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/settle-a-bet-jaguar-v-16-engine/48630/3 "2010-05-10T14:12:30Z")
They made no production v-16, for sure, and I don’t think they made any show cars with one, either. ---
**Author:** ![mcparadise](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mcparadise/32/32_2.png) [@mcparadise](https://community.cartalk.com/u/mcparadise)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 2:24pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/settle-a-bet-jaguar-v-16-engine/48630/4 "2010-05-10T14:24:59Z")
If your friend insists Jaguar produced a V-16 in the 1980s, ask him to prove it. Pictures of the engine or the vehicle in which it was installed would be nice. I seriously doubt he will be able to produce any results, no matter how hard he searches. What will you win? ---
**Author:** ![fitjeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e79b87/32.png) [@fitjeep](https://community.cartalk.com/u/fitjeep)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 10:54pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/settle-a-bet-jaguar-v-16-engine/48630/5 "2010-05-10T22:54:22Z")
I saw an old firetruck with a V16 in it. Can you believe it had a single barrel carburator! ---
**Author:** ![bscar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bscar/32/34_2.png) [@bscar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bscar)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2010, 11:32pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/settle-a-bet-jaguar-v-16-engine/48630/6 "2010-05-10T23:32:02Z")
Imagine the low end torque on that puppy ---
**Author:** ![Triedaq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Triedaq](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Triedaq)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 1:15am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/settle-a-bet-jaguar-v-16-engine/48630/7 "2010-05-11T01:15:34Z")
Are you sure the fire truck had 16 cylinders? I saw a fire truck that I first thought was an inline 12, but in reality it had 2 spark plugs per cylinder–a dual ignition system. I suppose this was for reliability. Could the fire truck you saw have been a V-8 with a dual ignition system? ---
**Author:** ![silvergc1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6f9a4e/32.png) [@silvergc1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/silvergc1)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 6:23pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/settle-a-bet-jaguar-v-16-engine/48630/8 "2010-05-11T18:23:13Z")
The Jag was a V12. There is a 16 cyl. car today (it’s actually a W16 instead of a V16): the Bugatti Veyron 16.4. It has a top speed of over 250 mph. ---
**Author:** ![Geo-407](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/edb3f5/32.png) [@Geo-407](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Geo-407)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 6:51am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/settle-a-bet-jaguar-v-16-engine/48630/9 "2020-12-20T06:51:52Z")
You could get some Jaguars with a 90 cubic inch V-16. The engine was built by Coventry Climax specifically for some XK-E models to be used in races limiting displacement to 90 cubic inches. It put out the same horsepower as the 6 cylinder. ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 12:12pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/settle-a-bet-jaguar-v-16-engine/48630/10 "2020-12-20T12:12:40Z")
Please provide a link to that information. I can’t find anything about it. ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 1:11pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/settle-a-bet-jaguar-v-16-engine/48630/11 "2020-12-20T13:11:24Z")
Coventry Climax made a FLAT 16, not a V16 in the early 60s for Formula 1 but it did not race. Problems with reliability. Exactly the same for a BRM flat 16. Porsche also made an air cooled flat 16 from 2 of their flat 8 racing engines. Same deal. Seems BRM designed, built and raced their own 90 cid, supercharged V16 for their Formula 1 car and raced it 1950 to about 1955. A handful of companies made V16s for road cars. Cadillac and Marmon in the 30s and Cizeta-Moroder (sp?) in 1991. ---
**Author:** ![Cavell](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/cavell/32/43396_2.png) [@Cavell](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Cavell)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 2:05pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/settle-a-bet-jaguar-v-16-engine/48630/12 "2020-12-20T14:05:38Z")
My dad bought a v-16 caddy that had been swapped to a ford flathead v-8. They did crazy stuff after ww2. He worked at a Catskills garage as a teen. Has some wild stories of eccentric car owners. ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 5:38pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/settle-a-bet-jaguar-v-16-engine/48630/13 "2020-12-20T17:38:14Z")
The V16 Caddy was one of the best looking engines, ever, IMO: ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/4/9/49aa63ec8e141c74b1d254f0287132991e8c04eb.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2020, 6:27pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/settle-a-bet-jaguar-v-16-engine/48630/14 "2020-12-20T18:27:54Z")
It does look impressive. Straight 8s and V16s suffer similar problems… Loooong crankshafts… Makes for wicked vibration harmonics… Lots of power passing down to the flywheel end that wants to twist them in two…