Jaguar’s most powerful and extreme road car is revealed
THE most powerful, agile and extreme performance road car ever produced by Jaguar, the 200mph XE SV Project 8 sedan, has been revealed by the brand.
The second Collector’s Edition by Jaguar Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations following the successful F-TYPE Project 7 of 2014, the Project 8 is a hand-built four-door sedan with supercar performance.
And to ensure exclusivity, no more than 300 examples will be created, each assembled at SVO’s Technical Centre in Coventry and costing from £149,995.
Project 8 exclusively features the most highly tuned version of Jaguar Land Rover’s 5.0-litre Supercharged V8 petrol powertrain.
The 600PS power unit, which has a Titanium Variable Active Exhaust, is complemented by Jaguar’s all-wheel drive system and motorsport-derived aerodynamics to deliver a 200mph top speed and 0-60mph in 3.3 seconds, making it the fastest accelerating Jaguar yet.
Key to its performance are several modifications to the XE’s lightweight aluminium body panels, including a carbon fibre bumper, flared bodywork, 20-inch forged aluminium alloys, an adjustable front splitter, a rear diffuser and an adjustable rear aerodynamic wing.
There’s also a new carbon ceramic braking system plus Formula 1-style ceramic wheel bearings.
Inside the cabin, there is gloss carbon fibre trim as well as Alcantara on the rim of the steering wheel, instru- ment binnacle and door cards.
And the eight-speed Quickshift transmission can either be operated by aluminium paddle shifters behind the steering wheel or by a central Pistolshift lever – another first for XE.
Jaguar says Project 8 is also the first Jaguar to feature a dedicated track mode, which tailors driveline and stability control systems for circuit use and sharpens both throttle and steering responses.
JLR Special Operations chief John Edwards said: “SVO’s raison d’être is to produce halo vehicles that push the boundaries in terms of luxury, performance and all-terrain capability.
“Project 8 is a great example of what happens when enthusiastic designers, engineers and manufacturing specialists are given the opportunity to create an extreme performance sports car without compromise.”