Most powerful Jaguar road car ever wowed voters and the judges at the annual showcase of gorgeous designs and thrilling performance cars.
When you watch the video above, it’s clear that the Jaguar XE SV Project 8 from the automaker’s Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) division knows how to go. It also knows how to stop – and we’re not just talking about its new Carbon Ceramic Braking system.
After debuting at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, it’s now officially a showstopper – the overall Michelin Supercar Paddock Showstopper of the event, to be exact. According to Jaguar, “As the only four-door car in the Michelin Supercar Run, the Jaguar vehicle faced formidable competition in the 50-car paddock, but voters in an online poll hosted by Michelin UK singled out Project 8 as one of the six most popular cars of the weekend, qualifying it for the overall Showstopper final on Sunday afternoon.” A panel of six judges, which included former British Touring Car Championship winner Tim Harvey, British automotive journalist and broadcaster Jon Quirk, and drift racer Vaughn Gittin Jr, went on to award the all-wheel-drive super sedan the second annual Michelin Supercar Paddock Showstopper Trophy.
Chief judge Harvey said, “Jaguar’s Project 8 really took everyone by surprise at the Festival this weekend. Not only was it the car’s world debut – but the sheer extremes of the car, and the way it’s pushed the boundaries in every single way, made it an absolute stand out in the Michelin Supercar Paddock.”
In addition to a 592-horsepower/516-lb-ft version of JLR’s well-known supercharged 5.0-liter V8, Project 8 features numerous lightweight carbon fiber body panels and aero add-ons, a titanium exhaust system, an Electronic Active Differential, Torque Vectoring by Braking technology, and Continuously Variable Shock Absorbers. SVO will only make Project 8s with left-hand drive. It’ll do some stopping of its own once it hand-builds 300 of the extreme XEs.
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.
