Limited Production Jaguar XE SV Project 8 Revealed

Jaguar's Special Vehicle Operations division has finally completed work on the Project 8. That's turning the XE, the most affordable car in its lineup, into the most powerful road-legal Jaguar ever. The last Collector's Edition that the SVO division undertook was the F-Type Project 7 in 2014. It could accelerate to 60mph (96.5kmph) from zero in 3.8 seconds. The XE Project 8 does that in just 3.3 seconds. All thanks to the new 5.0-litre supercharged V8 churning out 600PS of power, which is sent to all four wheels via an 8-speed transmission. The Project 8's top speed is also up from the 7’s figure of 300kmph to 322kmph.

Modifications to the car include carbon fibre bumpers with cooling ducts, carbon fibre bonnet with ventilations, flared bodywork, 20-inch forged aluminium alloy wheels, adjustable front splitter, a flat underbody and an adjustable spoiler wing.

The car will come in two flavours: a four-seat version with magnesium frame while the Track Pack will get two buckets made out of carbon fibre, complete with 4-point harnesses. All Project 8s will have their steering on the left side only as most of SVO's clients are expected to hail from left-hand-drive countries.

Check out: Jaguar F-Type Project 7 - Gallery!

Production will be limited to just 300 units. All the cars will be hand-made at Jaguar's technical centre in Coventry, near Birmingham, in the UK. Pricing starts at ‎£149,995 in the UK (~Rs 1.26 crore).

About the XE SV8, Ian Callum, Jaguar's design director, said, "Project 8 is a performance-driven car. As such, all of the enhancements we’ve made to the XE sports saloon – already a benchmark for dynamics – are established through physics as well as aesthetics. The result is clearly a powerful looking and very fast motor car. The aerodynamic elements are hugely significant beyond 150mph, even more so beyond 180mph. This is one of the most extreme vehicles we have ever created, but still very much a Jaguar."

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