The World's Fastest Road-Legal Four-Door Car: Jaguar XE Project Eight

The Jaguar XE project eight is undoubtedly one of the most ambitious and thrilling road cars to emerge from any manufacturer. With its incredible performance capabilities, advanced technology, and cutting-edge design, it's no wonder that this car has been making waves in the automotive world.

Project Eight: A 4-Door Super Saloon

The Jaguar XE project eight is a four-door super saloon that wouldn't be far off from being described as a "911 GT3 on steroids." It certainly shares more similarities with the GT3 than any other super saloon on the market. The car's design and engineering are so advanced that it makes a BMW M3 CS look like something a sales rep would drive. With only 300 units produced worldwide, this car is truly exclusive and highly sought after.

A New Standard in Super Saloons

The project eight has completely re-engineered every aspect of the XE, from its body to its suspension, aerodynamics, wheels, and tires. The result is a car that is not just fast but also incredibly agile and responsive. This car is truly a benchmark for super saloons, with its impressive performance capabilities making it a true standout on the road.

The Track Mode: A Game-Changer

One of the most exciting features of the project eight is its track mode. When activated, the dampers switch to a firmer and more aggressive setting, making the car even more precise and responsive on the track. The damper settings are similar in comfort mode but switch to a much stiffer and more aggressive setting when in track mode.

The Four-Wheel Drive System: A Key Factor

So what sets the project eight apart from other super saloons? The answer lies in its incredible four-wheel drive system, which makes the car significantly more approachable and friendly to drive. This system allows for up to 50% of the power to be sent forward when needed, making the car incredibly agile and responsive.

A Car Built for Circuit

The project eight is truly a car built for circuit racing. Its incredible performance capabilities, advanced technology, and cutting-edge design make it an absolute joy to drive on the track. Whether you're a seasoned pro or just starting out, this car will deliver an experience like no other.

Track Day Experience: My First Lap

With the help of Portimao, I had the opportunity to take the project eight for a spin on the track. As soon as I put it into gear, I knew that this was going to be an exciting ride. The car's approachability and friendliness in wet conditions impressed me from the start, and its incredible agility and responsiveness made it a blast to drive.

The Brakes: Carbon Ceramic and Fantastic

One of the standout features of the project eight is its carbon ceramic brakes, which are simply fantastic. These brakes don't fade at all and provide an incredible level of grip and control, making them perfect for high-speed cornering.

A Unique Experience

As I put my foot down on the throttle, I was amazed by how quickly the car accelerated away from a corner. The four-wheel drive system allowed me to maintain traction and control, even when pushing hard. This car truly has more dynamic ability than any other super saloon on the market, making it an absolute thrill to drive.

The Track Pack: An Optional Upgrade

If you want to take your project eight experience to the next level, there's an optional track pack available that adds a whopping $10,000 to the price tag. This package includes everything from racing seats and a half cage to missioning cuffs on the tires. With this upgrade, the car becomes even more aggressive and responsive, making it an absolute dream to drive.

Conclusion

The Jaguar XE project eight is truly an exceptional car that sets new standards for super saloons. Its incredible performance capabilities, advanced technology, and cutting-edge design make it a true benchmark in the industry. Whether you're a seasoned pro or just starting out, this car will deliver an experience like no other.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enyou're looking at the world's fastest road-legal four-door car around the Nurburgring at least that's the claim so we know the Jaguar XE project eight is massively fast but today with the help of Portimao we're gonna find out if it's actually fun to drive how best to describe the project 8a 4 doors 911 gt3 wouldn't be far off it certainly has more in common with the gt3 than it does any other super saloon in fact the project eight makes a bmw m3 CS looked like something a sales rep would drive the car is limited to 300 units worldwide it's designed and built by Jaguars special vehicle operations division SVO as it's known has completely re-engineered the car the body in white the front door panels and the roof are shared with the regular X II but just about everything else is new the brakes suspension aero package wheels and tires and well anything that makes a difference to the way the car drives it's unique to the project eight and the results speak for themselves around the Nurburgring the project eight is 11 seconds faster than the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio it's at a time of 7 minutes 21 seconds the price 150,000 pounds or you about to watch is my very first lap in this project a tap ports mouth in the dry I've done a couple of sessions already on a damp circuit and you know what I have to say given the circuit was slippery the car coat brilliantly well it's approachable it's friendly in wet conditions and you will expect that from this sort of car tool that's on aggressive michelin cut 2 tires it's very stiff and it was incredibly drivable amazing really it's all down to the four-wheel drive system which makes the car much more approachable much friendlier to drive then it would otherwise be so for the first time I'm in track mode we've got comfort dynamic and track in comfort and dynamic the dampers are more or less the same but in track they switch to a much firmer more aggressive setting and that made the car too stiff when the circuit was still a bit down but now that it's dry we can use the track mode and it feels even just a few corners into this first lap it feels amazing the car is so flat as well as it's three driving modes the project eight also has two basic configurations road and track converting the car from road to track configuration is not the work of a moment you have to extend the front splitter in the rear wings for maximum downforce then lower the ride height by 15 millimetres that's a wheel off job so it just feels planted it laughing super ugly well-controlled massively agile massively responsive it feels like no other super saloon it's got more dynamic ability more grip more precision more body control then any other super saloon m5 e60 3 c63 m3 it's got more ability on circuit than any of those cars way more I've driven it on the road and it's good on the road it's not as comfortable as plush as those other cars but it works but my god this car really is built for circuit and out here it feels fantastic coming down the main straight we've got 600 horsepower from a supercharged v8 now breaking for this fast fourth gear first corner good steering really place the car massive massive grip that brakes are fantastic for Jamil carbon ceramic brakes they just don't fade good feel as well it's all about this four-wheel-drive system though Jaguar did not want to build a burnout machine a drift machine that's not what this cars about at all they want it to be fast on circuit and that's exactly what this car is so in track mode it favors the rear axle more than it would do otherwise more than it does in comfort and in dynamic even so it feels rear wheel drive on the way into a corner it feels a rear wheel drive it's got that agility that same adjustability but then when you put your foot down away from a corner it will send up to 50% of the drive forwards which means that when you do put your foot down you don't just get massive wheelspin what you get is really sharp Drive bang in the corner with no loss of forward motion at all the car doesn't really want to slide so have a look here 2nd gear throw in a little bit further down and it doesn't really want to overstate you can make it do it it will do it a bit more in the wet but it's not a natural drift that at all that's not what they try to build instead it's a very very sharp very very fast track car the weak link that'll be the gearbox it's an 8-speed paddle-shift automatic it isn't terrible by any means but compared to the rest of the package which is razor sharp it feels a touch slow and hesitant it feels so lovely when you get it just floating into corners all four tyres just scrubbing slightly what a sensation what a machine I've never driven a saloon car on circuit that feels quite like this one this car has got the optional track pack which adds 10,000 pounds and you get these seats you get the half cage in the rear and being strapped in like I am now into these seeds makes you feel everything every movement it makes you a part of the car they make a huge difference a new standard a new benchmark it had to be they didn't it had to be it's 150 thousand pounds more if you have the track pack it's got that huge rear weighing it's got missioning cuff to tires it's been fully reengineered this car had to set new standards for super saloons and you know what it does it does you can have this car in a more Road bias trip so you can have rear seats and well it's as practical it's as usable as any other saloon car exceptional it's the exceptional track car really the XE was originally developed to be a motorway car that's once for is and it's a four-cylinder diesel engine and to hack up and down motorways but by going to town with it they've turned and otherwise very humble motorway car into a monster of a track weapon it's a monster\n"