Super sedan will have cool cats pouncing
GOODWOOD FESTIVAL OF SPEED/ Jaguar has unveiled its fastest production V8 sedan for just 300 fortunate owners
The following article should have a health warning because there will be those who will get short of breath due to excitement — and then realise they can’t have it.
We are talking about the Jaguar XE SV Project 8, which made its debut at Goodwood. Its statistics are incredible, as is its price of £149,995, but only 300 will be made and every one will be left-hand drive only.
ASTONISHED
Read on if you happen to have that kind of money and can register the car overseas (many do) or if you simply want to be astonished at just how Jaguar’s Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) division has managed to create a supercar masquerading as a family sedan, although one of the versions does not have back seats for the kids.
It is the second Collector’s Edition by SVO, following the F-Type Project 7 of 2014. Jaguar says the Project 8 is a hand-built four-door sedan with supercar performance designed to thrill driving enthusiasts, with an extraordinary combination of power, agility and all-wheeldrive traction.
“SVO’s raison d’être is to produce halo vehicles that push the boundaries in terms of luxury, performance and all-terrain capability,” says John Edwards, Jaguar Land Rover special operations MD.
“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.
“Project 8 will be assembled by hand in the new SVO technical centre and we’re confident our enthusiastic and demanding clients will love driving Project 8 as much as we do.”
The model features the most highly tuned version of Jaguar Land Rover’s 5.0l supercharged V8 petrol powertrain. The 441kW engine, which has a titanium variable active exhaust, is complemented by Jaguar’s allwheel drive system and motorsport-derived aerodynamics to deliver a claimed top speed of 322km/h and 0-100km/h in just 3.7 seconds.
It features modifications to the XE’s aluminium body panels, including a carbon fibre bumper, a vented carbon fibre bonnet, flared bodywork covering 20inch forged aluminium alloy wheels, an adjustable front splitter, a flat underbody, a rear carbon fibre bumper, a rear diffuser and an adjustable rear aerodynamic wing.
“We have really been able to unleash the potential of our engineering and design teams in specifying Project 8,” says SVO director Mark Stanton.
“We are at the beginning of a challenging and exciting development programme which will see us ensuring the Project 8 delivers track performance on a level previously not targeted by Jaguar. The SVO team is full of performance car enthusiasts who are briefed to deliver motorsport science and soul in what is a four-door supercar.”
To ensure optimum performance on road or track, the Project 8 endows the XE’s doublewishbone front and integral link rear suspension with stiffer springs and manually adjustable continuously variable dampers (giving a 15mm lower ride height for track use). It also debuts a carbon ceramic braking system, an industry-first use of Formula 1-style silicon nitride ceramic wheel bearings on a road car, and incorporates a rear electronic active differential complete with an oil cooler.
Inside there are elements of gloss carbon fibre trim as well as Alcantara on the rim of the steering wheel, instrument binnacle and door cards.
The eight-speed Quickshift transmission can be operated by aluminium paddle shifters behind the steering wheel or by a central Pistolshift lever.
It is also the first Jaguar to feature a dedicated track mode, which tailors driveline and stability control systems for circuit use and sharpens throttle and steering responses.
TWO VERSIONS
Two versions are available, one of which you can put the kids in and one where you have to leave them at home. The standard four-seat model features performance seats with magnesium frames, plus a more heavily contoured rear squab. The optional two-seat Track Pack includes lightweight front carbon fibre racing seats with fourpoint harnesses fixed to a harness retention hoop (most people call it a half roll cage) in place of the rear seat.
As we said, this is an easy car to get excited about indeed.