Jaguar XE SV Project 8 Will Have 592 Horsepower and Hit 200 MPH

Super sedan’s record power and advanced hardware will make it “the most powerful, agile and extreme performance Jaguar road car ever produced.”

Jaguar Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) division did more than just throw a big engine into Jaguar’s smallest sedan to create the XE SV Project 8. A lot more.

For starters, they took an XE and gave it a lighter, more aerodynamically-effective skin. They replaced the front bumper and fenders with carbon fiber pieces. The two-position manually adjustable front splitter is also made out of carbon fiber, as are the side skirts, rear bumper, and diffuser. A flat underbody and manually adjustable two-position rear wing keeps the back end planted. Switching from an aluminum hood to a carbon fiber hood with an integrated air extraction duct saved 6.6 pounds. No word on how many pounds the Titanium Variable Active Exhaust tailpipes saved, but every bit counts. Total weight of the supercharged V8-powered Project 8 is a claimed 3,847 pounds, less than a 60-pound increase relative to the 2018 XE S with a supercharged V6 and all-wheel drive.

Under Project 8’s vented hood is an ultra-high-output version of the familiar supercharged 5.0-liter V8. Thanks to the retuned engine calibration software and improved intake and exhaust airflow, it now generates 592 horsepower – a record for a street-legal Jaguar – and 516 lb-ft of torque. Sixty mph comes up in 3.3 seconds. Top speed is a flat 200 mph.

That tweaked engine is paired with a re-calibrated eight-speed Quickshift automatic. Gear changes occur in as little as 200 milliseconds. All-wheel drive with an Electronic Active Differential (an XE first) that controls torque delivery to the rear wheels puts the enhanced V8’s ample power to the ground. Torque Vectoring by Braking tech clamps down on individual inside brakes during cornering to help Project 8 rotate and understeer less.

Manually adjustable Continuously Variable Shock Absorbers give Project 8 a 15-mm lower ride height out on the track. Jaguar’s Carbon Ceramic Brake (CCB) system makes its debut on Project 8, which is equipped with 15.7-inch two-piece front discs with six-piston calipers and 15.6-inch two-piece rear discs with one-piston sliding calipers. That stopping hardware sits behind 20-inch forged aluminum alloys with Formula 1-style silicon nitride ceramic bearings.

Inside the Project 8, there’s Alcantara, Gloss Carbon Fiber accents, a 4G Wi-Fi hotspot, a 12.3-inch TFT instrument panel display with full-screen 3D Map View nav, and two firsts. The Pistolshift lever is new to the XE; the Track Mode, which adjusts the Intelligent Driveline Dynamics, Adaptive Dynamics, Dynamic Stability Control (DSC), ABS, Torque Vectoring by Braking, and EPAS for motorsports use, is a first for Jaguar. Unfortunately, the North American market will only be able to get Project 8 in a four-seater configuration. Customers in other markets will be able to order Project 8 as a two-seater with carbon fiber racing seats, four-point harnesses, and a harness retention hoop in place of the back seats.

The Project 8 officially made its debut on Friday, June 30 during the Goodwood Festival of Speed and check out the video below of its debut run. Jaguar/SVO will only make 300 of them (with left-hand drive only) at a rather outragous price that’s already got some of you on Jaguar Forums talking…

Chime in with your thoughts on the forum. >>

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Derek Shiekhi

Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.

After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.

While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.

Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.

In addition to writing for a variety of Internet Brands sites, including JK Forum, H-D Forums, The Mustang Source, Mustang Forums, LS1Tech, HondaTech, Jaguar Forums, YotaTech, and Ford Truck Enthusiasts. Derek also started There Will Be Cars on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

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