Photo: Stefan Baldauf/SB-Medien
Although it’s the cheapest Jaguar of them all, the XE comes as standard with halogen headlights. The bi-function Xenon headlights with J-shaped LED daytime running lights, well, those are optional. And interestingly enough, this prototype of the XE SV Project 8 is fitted with cheap-looking halogen lighting.
It remains to be seen if this is nothing more than a “that’ll do” customary for a pre-production prototype or if Jaguar will charge money for the better headlights. Here’s hope it’s the former of the two scenarios, especially if you bear in mind the most powerful and extreme Jag of them all starts at £149,995.
Seeing the XE SV Project 8 being driven hard at the Nurburgring prompted some car enthusiasts to suggest that Jaguar is gunning for a record-breaking lap. The car to beat is the similarly-sized Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, which claimed the four-door lap record in 7 minutes and 32 seconds. Jaguar’s supercharged sedan has all its takes to do exactly that, partially thanks to the more powerful engine and partially thanks to the extreme aerodynamic tricks.
Something the XE SV Project 8 doesn’t have going for it is curb weight. At 3,847 pounds (1,745 kilograms), the Jag is heavier than the Alfa, which tips the scales at 3,749 pounds (1,701 kilograms) in U.S. specification. But by comparison, customers of the Jaguar XE SV Project 8 have the choice of rear-seat delete while Alfa Romeo doesn’t offer this sort of weight-saving measure.
At the end of the day, however, these are only numbers. What’s important to highlight about the XE SV Project 8 is that it embodies the best Jaguar can do with the automaker’s current know-how, and it’s awe-inspiringly brilliant, to say the least. Only 300 examples will be made – by hand – at the SVO Technical Center in Warwickshire in the UK. By comparison, the regular XE is manufactured at Castle Bromwich Assembly.
Seeing the XE SV Project 8 being driven hard at the Nurburgring prompted some car enthusiasts to suggest that Jaguar is gunning for a record-breaking lap. The car to beat is the similarly-sized Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, which claimed the four-door lap record in 7 minutes and 32 seconds. Jaguar’s supercharged sedan has all its takes to do exactly that, partially thanks to the more powerful engine and partially thanks to the extreme aerodynamic tricks.
Something the XE SV Project 8 doesn’t have going for it is curb weight. At 3,847 pounds (1,745 kilograms), the Jag is heavier than the Alfa, which tips the scales at 3,749 pounds (1,701 kilograms) in U.S. specification. But by comparison, customers of the Jaguar XE SV Project 8 have the choice of rear-seat delete while Alfa Romeo doesn’t offer this sort of weight-saving measure.
At the end of the day, however, these are only numbers. What’s important to highlight about the XE SV Project 8 is that it embodies the best Jaguar can do with the automaker’s current know-how, and it’s awe-inspiringly brilliant, to say the least. Only 300 examples will be made – by hand – at the SVO Technical Center in Warwickshire in the UK. By comparison, the regular XE is manufactured at Castle Bromwich Assembly.
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