Jaguar has revealed its latest Special Vehicle Operations project: the 2018 XE SV Project 8. As a follow up to the 2017 Jaguar F-Type Project 7, the XE SV Project 8 represents the most powerful roadgoing Jaguar to date.

SVO massaged the brand's familiar 5.0-liter supercharged V-8 engine to produce 592 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque, and with such an incremental power increase came a rethought design for Jaguar's compact sedan. Jaguar has released a handful of videos to highlight the process that has gone into making the XE SV Project 8 a truly special car. Much of the design remains the same—the car is still instantly recognizable as a Jaguar and an XE—but minor revisions had to occur to accommodate the XE SV Project 8's hardcore intentions.

Ian Callum, Design Director, and Wayne Burgess, SVO Studio Director, both explain the subtle details hiding behind the Project 8. Not only did Jaguar's skunkworks want the XE SV Project 8 to look extreme, it wanted the car to be physically extreme. Wider wheels and tires meant the body had to be built out accordingly. Therefore, the packaging is unique to the XE SV Project 8. The whole front end of the car has moved forward along with the headlights.

Then, designers had to fit the necessary aerodynamic bits with the design to ensure air flowed through and around the car as engineers desired. It may not sound like a lot, but there are dozens of intricate, integral details throughout the Project 8. It's clear this was a labor of love from Jaguar and its Special Vehicle Operations team. Check out the accompanying videos to dive deeper into what makes the Project 8 purr. 

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