Experienced by Kimatni D. Rawlins
Adding to the family magnetism, the Jaguar XE SV Project 8 supercar made its North American Debut at Laguna Seca during Monterey Car Week to a grand audience of media, auto enthusiasts and owners. Emboldened with an incredible 592-horsepower and 516 lb-ft of torque, the British feline is projected to sprint from 0-60 mph in a scorching 3.3 seconds and top 200 mph. But think fast since Jaguar will only produce 300 of these starborn performance machines worldwide.
Engineered by Jaguar Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations (SVO), the XE SV Project 8 sedan is a car that puts smiles on faces whenever and wherever it is showcased. This exclusive edition follows the path of the F-Type Project 7 but supersedes it in power and lightweight componentry to become the fastest sprinter on the squad.
The heart of the Project 8 manifests from the strongest variant of the company’s 5.0-liter supercharged V8 to go along with the vehicle’s track-focused engineering from the braking to the cooling. Completed with an 8-speed Quickshift transmission — using either the aluminum paddle shifters or the central Pistolshift — a Titanium Variable Active Exhaust, standard, rear wheel biased AWD, Electronic Active Differential for optimum traction and motorsport-derived aerodynamics, the XE SV Project 8 is the most racing-focused and most authoritative road-going Jaguar built to date. The team’s blueprint for the Project 8 began with the XE’s basics and evolved to a road warrior featuring 75% new hardware. So the degree of change was immense.
“We have really been able to unleash the potential of our engineering and design teams in specifying Project 8. We are at the beginning of a very challenging and exciting development program which will see us focus on ensuring Project 8 delivers track performance on a level previously not targeted by Jaguar,” said, Mark Stanton, SVO Director. “The SVO team is full of performance car enthusiasts that are now briefed to deliver motorsport science and soul in what is effectively a four-door supercar.”
Commencing with a lightweight, compact and rigid aluminum body structure, SVO commissioned the Jaguar with flared bodywork, 20” forged aluminum alloy wheels, Carbon Ceramic Brakes, F1-style silicon nitride ceramic wheel bearings, adjustable front air splitter and air intakes, vented carbon fiber bonnet, rear carbon fiber bumper, a unique rear air diffuser and an adjustable 2-position rear aerodynamic wing. They also removed the spare rear wheel well for proper airflow and repositioned the headlights. Of course the suspension needed to be upgraded with manually adjustable ride height, stiffer springs and Intelligent Driveline Dynamics settings for circuit use
. The Project 8 now becomes the first Jaguar with a dedicated Track Mode that recalibrates the vehicle for superior handling from systems such as Adaptive Dynamics, Dynamic Stability Control and Torque Vectoring by Braking. Additionally, the new Jaguar comes with custom tuned Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires. The Z-rated rubber sizes are 265/35R20 in the front and 305/30R20 in the rear and were specifically developed to maximize performance and handling.
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Inside the motorsports derived cockpit, the unique ambiance is fashioned with Alcantara that lines the steering wheel, doors and instrument panel and of course is finished with Gloss Carbon Fiber Trim. A four-seat configuration with magnesium framed front performance seats is suited for North America buyers while other countries can opt for the Track Pack with two Carbon Fiber Racing Seats in the front that attach to a rear Harness Retention Hoop which replaces rear seats.The 10.2” Jaguar InControl touchscreen multimedia system features Dynamic-I incorporating a stopwatch, g-meter readout and accelerator and braking graphics. A 4G Wi-Fi hotspot, 11-speaker Meridian sound system and virtual 12.3” TFT Instrument Panel Display with full-screen 3D Map View navigation ascertains your ride is as intelligent as it is fast.
The performance and design interpretation of the Jaguar XE SV Project 8 leaves nothing to the imagination. It is visually raw, blatantly powerful and technologically enhanced. Certainly its birthright will be highly sought after by visionaries looking to establish nobility in their automotive collection.
