Jaguar XE SV Project 8 is the “Most Powerful, Agile and Extreme Performance Jaguar Road Car Ever Produced.”

Track-focused Jaguar super sedan has a 592-horsepower supercharged V8 and the aero add-ons, stopping power, and performance upgrades to go with it.

The Jaguar XE SV Project 8 from the company’s Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) division is more than just a small car with a big engine in it. Every part of it’s been reworked for higher speed and better performance, particularly on the track.

To make Jaguar’s smallest sedan lighter and more aerodynamically efficient, SVO replaced the front bumper and fenders with carbon fiber units. They also bolted on a manually adjustable two-position carbon fiber front splitter. The side skirts, rear bumper, and diffuser are made out of the same lightweight material. Project 8’s flat underbody further manages airflow. The manually adjustable two-position rear wing keeps the rear end stuck to the road and road course. SVO’s use of a carbon fiber hood with an integrated air extraction duct cut 6.6 pounds alone. They put the exhaust on a diet by opting for a titanium setup. All of those adjustments add up to a claimed weight of 3,847 pounds.

Up front, there’s a super-high-output version of Jaguar Land Rover’s well-known supercharged 5.0-liter V8. Retuned engine calibration software and better intake and exhaust airflow helps it crank out 592 horsepower – a record amount of ponies for a Jag road car – and 516 lb-ft of torque. Sixty mph comes up on the speedo in 3.3 seconds. Top speed? 200 mph even.

The enhanced V8 is coupled with a re-tuned eight-speed Quickshift auto. Gear changes take place in 200 milliseconds. All-wheel drive with an Electronic Active Differential that controls torque delivery to the rear tires applies the engine’s abundant power to the ground. Torque Vectoring by Braking tech clamps down on individual inside brake discs during cornering to make Project 8 more agile.

Manually adjustable Continuously Variable Shock Absorbers lower Project 8 by 15 mm for track days. Jaguar’s new Carbon Ceramic Brake (CCB) system officially debuts on Project 8, which features 15.7-inch two-piece front discs with six-piston calipers and 15.6-inch two-piece rear discs with one-piston sliding calipers. Those discs sit behind 20-inch forged aluminum alloy wheels with silicon nitride ceramic bearings a la Formula 1.

Project 8’s cockpit is trimmed with Alcantara and glossy carbon fiber accents. Tech includes a 4G Wi-Fi hotspot and a 12.3-inch TFT instrument panel display with full-screen 3D Map View nav. The cabin also showcases two firsts. The Pistolshift lever is new to the XE sedan; Track Mode, which recalibrates the Intelligent Driveline Dynamics, Adaptive Dynamics, Dynamic Stability Control, ABS, Torque Vectoring by Braking, and EPAS systems for track use, is a first for Jaguar. North American buyers will only be able to order Project 8 as a four-seater. Customers in other markets will be able to get their Project 8s as two-seaters with carbon fiber racing buckets, four-point harnesses, and a harness retention hoop in place of the rear seats.

Project 8 will officially debut on June 30 during the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Jaguar/SVO will only make 300 of them – all with left-hand drive. Expect prices to be in line with that kind of exclusivity.

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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 and Ford Truck Enthusiasts, Derek also contributes to other outlets. He started There Will Be Cars on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube to get even more automotive content out to fellow enthusiasts.

He can be reached at autoeditors@internetbrands.com.