The most powerful road-legal Jaguar in history is not an F-Type, but an XE.

The Jaguar XE SV ‘Project 8’ was built by Jaguar Special Vehicle Operations and cops a 5.0-litre supercharged V8 in the snout. It’s capable of a mental 441kW, about 20 more than the already wild enough F-Type V8 SVR.

To let the Brit prototype sedan stretch its legs, Jaguar took it to the Nurburgring Nordschleife for testing.

Jaguar XE SV Project 8 hood

Production numbers are set with only 300 to be sold worldwide, though all will be hand-assembled at SVO’s Technical Centre in Coventry.

Special operations managing director at Jaguar Land Rover John Edwards says the project builds on the success of the F-Type Project 7.

Jaguar XE SV Project 8 front

The new XE SV Project 8 takes aerodynamics and performance engineering to another level – it is conceived for enthusiasts and the most discerning collectors.

“The price for such an extreme performance sports car available in strictly limited numbers will reflect that.”

Jaguar XE SV Project 8 rear

Full specification details for the Jaguar XE SV Project 8 will be revealed on 28 June 2017 ahead of its official debut at the 2017 Goodwood Festival of Speed.