Nurburgring - Jaguar's XE SV Project 8 sedan has become the world’s fastest four-door car around the Nürburgring Nordschleife, smashing the record by nearly 11 seconds.
A pre-production prototype set a stunning time of 7min 21.2sec at the legendary 20.8km German circuit, shattering the lap set by the previously fastest four-door car, the Alfa Romeo Giulia QV, which set a 7.32 in 2015.
The Project 8 also lapped quicker than some of the world’s fastest supercars including the Ferrari Enzo (7:25) and Pagani Zonda (7:24).
Developed by Jaguar Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations (SVO), the XS SV Project 8 is the most powerful road-legal Jaguar yet built, boasting 441kW from its 5-litre Supercharged V8 engine to give it a claimed 0-100km/h sprint in 3.7 seconds and a top speed of 322km/h.
Each car will be hand-assembled at the SVO Technical Centre in Warwickshire, England and total production will be limited to 300 cars worldwide – unfortunately none of them destined for South Africa.
“The SVO design and engineering team’s mission was to create the most track-focused road-legal Jaguar in history – not only the fastest, but also the most agile,” said Mark Stanton, SVO Director.
“As a result, only the roof and front door skins of Project 8’s body are carried-over unaltered from XE sedan and 75 per cent of its mechanical hardware is new. This astonishing Nürburgring Nordschleife record validates the success of such extensive changes.”
To date the V6 turbo-engined XJ220 of the 1990s is still the fastest road-legal Jaguar in a straight line with its 341.7km/h top speed, but its Nurburgring laptime of 7:46 pales against the Project 8’s.