The Jaguar XE SV Project 8 developed by the British brand’s Special Vehicle Operations Division has set the fastest lap time for a four-door production car at the Nürburgring Nordschleife track again, beating its own previous record.

At seven minutes and 18.361 seconds, this new officially-verified time on the 20.6-km lap is 2.9 seconds faster than the Project 8’s previous benchmark set in November 2017 and seven seconds faster than any other four-door production car has ever achieved.

Project 8 is also the first vehicle to set an official whole lap record in Nürburgring’s mid-range production car class, lapping the 20.8 km circuit length in seven minutes and 23.164 s.

Returning to the legendary German circuit in a production-specification two-seat Track Pack version of Project 8 was development driver Vincent Radermecker. The car’s height-adjustable twin-spring coil-over suspension was set in ‘track’ ride height, with adjustable front splitter and carbon-fibre rear aerodynamic wing positioned for maximum downforce and stability.

To maximise performance and steering precision, for the final record runs, Project 8 was fitted with new off-the-shelf ultra-high performance Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tyres. The road-legal tyres use rubber compounds directly transferred from Michelin’s competition tyres.

Powered by the most highly tuned 447 kW (600 PS) version of Jaguar’s 5.0-litre Supercharged V8, the all-wheel-drive Project 8 is capable of 0-100 kmph in 3.7 seconds and a top speed of 320 kmph. Project 8 also features a fully-enclosed flat underbody for enhanced aerodynamics, which is key to its performance. Production of the limited-edition Project 8 will finish this year.

There are three distinct four-door specifications available: Lightweight two-seat Track Pack – as used for the record lap times; Four-seat configuration with same aero package and performance as Track Pack; Touring specification with discreet fixed rear spoiler – the ultimate Q-car, limited to 15 examples worldwide and 299 kmph.

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