Jaguar’s Special Vehicle Operations fast-car skunkworks has jammed a supercharged 5.0-litre V8 into the snout of the middle-management-spec XE sedan, creating what it says will be the most “extreme performance” of any road-going Jaguar ever.

And that’s quite a claim, given the Project 8 has to follow in the footsteps of the lithe F-Type Project 7, a 423kW hard-core interpretation of Jaguar’s 911-hunting coupe capable of leaping to 100km/h in 3.9 seconds. The Project 7’s all-wheel drive sibling, the F-Type SVR, is even faster still with a 3.7-second zero-to-hundred stat.

It’ll have the aero too, courtesy of a very uncouth wing sprouting out of the bootlid and a lift-reducing bodykit on the front, sides and rear. Expect similarly track-oriented componentry on the Project 8’s brakes and suspension, and an engine, gearbox and suspension calibration honed on the fearsome Nurburgring Nordschleife.

In other words, expect to pay significantly more than the current XE S range-topper, which retails for $105,065 in Australia. As a reference, only 10 of the similarly-exclusive F-Type Project 7 came to our shores with an eye-watering $339,610 pricetag.

Will Jaguar follow up the Project 8 with a more accessible V8 powered XE R to go up against the BMW M3, Mercedes-AMG C63, and the the upstart Alfa Romeo Giulia QV? At this point the crystal ball is a little murky, but the Project 8 at least sets a very powerful precedent.

Full specifications of the XE SV Project 8 will be announced on June 28, two days ahead of its in-the-flesh public debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK.

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