JAGUAR is investigating the corrosive effects of certain high-sulphur petrols after it discovered it uses the same engine cylinder coating as BMW, which has already had to replace more than 1,000 engines. BMW revealed a problem with the Nikosil coating on all of its 2.0-litre, 2.3-litre and 2.8-litre six-cylinder engines.

The German manufacturer has found that high-sulphur petrol, sold at some independent garages, eats through the coating and wrecks the engine. This has resulted in BMW replacing 1,000 engines, with the potential to have to replace up to 50,000 more on cars built between January 1995 and March 1998.

Now Jaguar, which uses the Nikosil coating on its V8 engines in the XJ and XK8 range and soon to be introduced on the S-type, is carrying out tests. The manufacturer says potentially there could be a problem with the coating, but as yet no vehicles have suffered problems as a result of the fuel.