The Jaguar XE SV Project 8 is the most potent, most race-focused Jaguar that has ever been assembled. Its engine generates 591 hp, and the top speed of this car is 200 mph whereas it takes just 3.3 seconds to reach 60 mph. Redesigned fenders are hiding wide tires while a rear wing looks like it came from a small plane. The sound this car makes is utterly terrifying, and this 2018 Jaguar XE SV Project 8 which is hand-built by the Jaguar Land Rover Special Vehicles Operations crew looks fantastic.
Producing this kind of vehicle was difficult, and according to the SVO engineers, 75 percent of the muscular sedan is authentic. SVO boss, John Edwards grinned: “This is the car to make our reputation.”
Exterior Design
The base of this machine is a Jaguar XE sedan aluminum body shell. The engineers changed everything except the roof panel and the front door skins whereas a new bodyside stamping and new rear door skins come with 2.2-inch flares located over 305/30 tires surrounding 20-inch wheels. The headlights had to be repositioned, and they are moved half an inch forward to create more clearance in the wheel wells.
The 2018 Jaguar XE SV Project 8 is equipped with the unique front bumper, rear bumper, rear diffuser, side skirts and adjustable front splitter and all of these elements are made from carbon fiber making the vehicle the lightest in the V8 Jaguar sedan lineup. Thanks to a reprofiled trunk floor, the effectiveness of the diffuser is increased and due to the wing and the front splitter in the track setting the Project 8 generates 269 pounds of downforce at 186 mph.
The aerodynamics of the car are great, but what you can also do is to manually tweak the suspension if you plan to spend the day at the track. SVO designed unique billet steering knuckles with Formula 1-style silicon nitride ceramic bearings so that mass and friction are reduced as much as possible whereas stiffness and stability are increased with the rear upper control arm assembly which comes with ball joints instead of bushings.
Under the Skin, Engine
Also, Jaguar added carbon-ceramic brakes to the Project 8, which is a debut for the carmaker. The front rotors measure 15.8 inches while the rear ones are slightly smaller with 15.6 inches diameter. The system can apply brakes to the inside wheels separately which is important when the car is in the corners.
We have already mentioned the amount of power that is a courtesy of a 5.0-liter supercharged V8 engine which lies under the hood of the Project 8. There have been some modifications to the powerplant such as the addition of a unique air intake system and a new free-flowing titanium exhaust which features four 3.5-inch tailpipes. The maximum power comes at 6,500 rpm while peak torque is reached between 3,500 and 5,000 rpm. The engine is mated to the ZF eight-speed automatic transmission which sends the power to all four wheels.
2018 Jaguar XE SV Project 8 Interior
Riding on the track produces a lot of heat, but the driver will be cooled down thanks to the air conditioning. Even though the 2018 Jaguar XE SV Project 8 is a race car, it still has some luxury elements, but they are all covered with carbon fiber, aluminum or Alcantara activewear. The 12.3-inch TFT digital instrument pack is there for the front end, but there is also the 10.2-inch InControl Touch Pro infotainment system which features digital stopwatch, acceleration, braking graphics and G loadings. The vehicle is packed with a 380-Watt Meridian audio system but who would want to listen to music next to that thundering engine?
The standard Project 8 has four seats whereas the standard XE comes with two performance seats framed with magnesium. Outside the US and Canada, people will be able to purchase the new Project 8 as a two-seater, but Jaguar offers the Track Pack option which replaces the front seats with an even lighter set.
2018 Jaguar XE SV Project 8 Release Date and Price
Jaguar plans to assemble only 300 examples of Project 8, and all of them will be with left-hand drive. The new Jaguar XE SV Project 8 is scheduled to roll out in England in March 2018. The starting price for the US market is unknown at the moment, but we expect it to go around $192,000.
