THE most powerful, agile and extreme performance road car ever produced by Jaguar, the 200mph XE SV Project 8 saloon, 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, instrument 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.”
