JAGUAR XE SV PROJECT 8

Jaguar Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) has revealed the most powerful, agile and extreme performance Jaguar road car ever - the 200mph, 600PS Jaguar XE SV Project 8 sedan.

The second Collector's Edition by SVO, following the successful F-TYPE Project 7 of 2014, Project 8 is a hand-built four-door sedan with supercar performance - designed to thrill driving enthusiasts, with an extraordinary combination of explosive power, dynamic agility and all-wheel-drive traction. To ensure exclusivity, no more than 300 examples will be created, each assembled at SVO's Technical Centre in Coventry.

John Edwards, Jaguar Land Rover Special Operations Managing Director, said: "SVO's raison d'être is to produce halo vehicles that push the boundaries in terms of luxury, performance and all-terrain capability. Project 8 is a great example of what happens when enthusiastic designers, engineers and manufacturing specialists are given the opportunity to create an extreme performance sports car without compromise. Project 8 will be assembled by hand in the new SVO Technical Centre, and we're confident that our enthusiastic and demanding clients will love driving Project 8 as much we do!"

Jaguar XE SV Project 8 exclusively features the most highly tuned version of Jaguar Land Rover's 5.0-litre Supercharged V8 petrol powertrain. The 600PS power unit, which has a Titanium Variable Active Exhaust, is complemented by Jaguar's All-Wheel Drive (AWD) system and motorsport-derived aerodynamics to deliver a 200mph top speed and 0-60mph in 3.3sec, making Project 8 the fastest accelerating Jaguar yet.

Fundamental to the performance of the most track-focused car SVO has ever produced, Project 8 features a number of purposeful modifications to the award-winning XE's lightweight aluminium body panels, including: Carbon Fibre Bumper with enhanced Cooling Ducts, vented Carbon Fibre Bonnet, flared bodywork covering 20-inch forged aluminium alloy wheels, adjustable Front Splitter, Flat Underbody, rear Carbon Fibre Bumper, rear Diffuser and adjustable Rear Aerodynamic Wing. Project 8 will be the lightest V8 sedan in the Jaguar range.

Mark Stanton, SVO Director, said: "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 programme which will see us focus on ensuring Project 8 delivers track performance on a level previously not targeted by Jaguar. 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."

To ensure optimum performance on road or track, Project 8 endows the XE's double-wishbone front and Integral Link rear suspension with stiffer springs and manually adjustable Continuously Variable Dampers (giving a 15mm lower ride height for track use), debuts a new Carbon Ceramic Braking system, an industry-first use of Formula 1-style silicon nitride ceramic wheel bearings on a road car, and incorporates a rear Electronic Active Differential (EAD) with oil cooler - a first for XE.

The high-performance theme continues inside, with subtle applications of Gloss Carbon Fibre trim as well as Alcantara, on the rim of the Project 8 Sport Steering Wheel, instrument binnacle and door cards. The eight-speed Quickshift transmission can either be operated by aluminium paddle shifters behind the steering wheel or by a central Pistolshift lever - another first for XE.

Project 8 is also the first Jaguar to feature a dedicated Track Mode, which tailors driveline and stability control systems for circuit use, and sharpens both throttle and steering responses for ultimate precision and driver feedback.

Jaguar XE SV Project 8 will be available in two specifications at launch. The standard four-seat model features Jaguar's latest front Performance seats with magnesium frames, plus a more heavily contoured rear squab to maximise support. The optional two-seat Track Pack includes lightweight front Carbon Fibre Racing Seats with Four-Point Harnesses fixed to a Harness Retention Hoop in place of the rear seat. All Project 8s will be built in left-hand drive configuration only.

Jaguar XE SV Project 8 owners will be able to personalise their car by specifying further optional colours and finishes from the SVO Premium Palette range, which includes 19 colours in tri-coat, tinted clear coat, pearlescent, ChromaFlairTM and satin matte finishes. Race-inspired decal packs, accentuating Project 8's high-performance attributes, are also available.

The Jaguar XE SV Project 8 makes its world debut at 2017 Goodwood Festival of Speed in West Sussex, UK.

BODY DESIGN AND AERODYNAMICS

Jaguar has a rich history of producing stunning, aerodynamically-efficient cars and the standard XE is the most aerodynamic Jaguar ever. The XE SV Project 8 takes that tradition of uncompromised form and function to the next level, with purposeful bodywork revisions by SVO's design and engineering experts to meet the car's 200mph performance target.

Project 8's exterior body panels emphasise the dynamic cab-rearward proportions of the XE's design, with only the roof and front door skins unaltered. And, there are a number of revisions to the lightweight aluminium-intensive monocoque itself too. Modifications include:

• 55mm flared aluminum rear wing panels, to accommodate 305-width tyres
• Aluminium rear doors reprofiled with more muscular body flare
• Reprofiled boot floor to improve airflow through the rear Diffuser

Lightweight Carbon Fibre material is used extensively throughout the Project 8 body package, which contributes to the lowest kerb weight of any current V8-powered Jaguar sedan, from just 1,745kg. It also helps achieve the desired weight distribution. Carbon Fibre and composite components exclusive to Project 8 are:

• 19mm flared Carbon Fibre front wings with cut-away lower trailing edges, to accommodate 265-width tyres and repositioned Xenon headlamp units
• Front Carbon Fibre Bumper with integrated centre and lower outer grilles for optimised airflow management
• Manually adjustable two-position two-piece Carbon Fibre Front Splitter
• Carbon Fibre Bonnet with integrated air extraction duct, saving 3kg over the standard aluminium part, reducing drag and aiding cooling
• Carbon Fibre lower side skirts
• Rear Carbon Fibre Bumper with drag-reducing airflow management creases and cut-away lower wheelarch trailing edges
• Rear Carbon Fibre Diffuser with quad Titanium Variable Active Exhaust tailpipes
• Manually adjustable two-position single-element Rear Aerodynamic Wing

Extensive rolling road wind tunnel and Computational Fluid Dynamics simulation testing has refined the aerodynamic package, which includes a Flat Underbody, to achieve a 205 per cent reduction in lift with Front Splitter and Rear Aerodynamic Wing in Track Mode, delivering more than 122kg of downforce at 186mph - 25 per cent more than Project 8's nearest competitor.

Ian Callum, Jaguar 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."

Every Jaguar XE SV Project 8 gets unique badges on the Front Splitter and endplates of the Rear Aerodynamic Wing, plus an SVO roundel on the rear panel, while the XE badge can be deleted at no cost.