Jaguar Says XE SV Project 8 Nurburgring Lap Record “Could Be Beaten”

Here’s a statement from Jaguar themselves: “Intensive development program indicates record-breaking 7-minute 21.23-second Nurburgring Nordschleife lap time could be beaten by Project 8 owners.” In other words, the automaker has been fine-tuning the car since November 2017, squeezing every ounce of performance.

Scheduled to go into production at the Special Vehicle Operations Technical Center in June 2018, the Project 8 retails at £149,995 in the United Kingdom. Exclusively left-hand drive, the most powerful road-going Jaguar combines a 5.0-liter supercharged V8 with all-wheel-drive and an eight-speed Quickshift transmission.

Customers are offered a choice between four seats or the Track Pack, which deletes the rear bench. Opting for the Track Pack also adds the carbon-fiber racing front seats with four-point harnesses. All in all, the two-seater is 12.2 kilograms lighter than the four-seat XE SV Project 8, with torsional rigidity quoted as 27 percent better.

The second Collector’s Edition Jaguar from SVO after the F-Type Project 7, the Project 8 will be delivered to its first owners this summer. In total, the Coventry-based automaker will hand-assemble 300 examples of the super sedan. Each and every single one develops 600 horsepower and 700 Nm (516 pound-feet) of torque, which equates to 3.3 seconds to 60 miles per hour and 200-plus mph on full song.

To unlock the full potential of the car, Jaguar is much obliged to wrap the wheels in Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires. F1-inspired ceramic wheel bearings, a differential oil cooler, flat underbody, and an adjustable front splitter are also on the menu, as are the rear wing, adjustable suspension, and carbon-ceramic brakes.