Jaguar XE SV Project 8 Touring pack unveiled

The Jaguar XE may be currently under a cloud, but that hasn't stopped Jaguar rolling out a Touring pack for its high-flying Jaguar XE SV Project 8.

Unfortunately, it won't ever be seen on public roads in Australia.

Identifiable from its "discreet" fixed rear spoiler in lieu of the large wing of the track car – and a fixed front splitter – the Touring-pack option for the Jaguar XE SV Project 8 results in a lower top speed than the standard car, but that's still a respectable figure of 300km/h.

The Project 8 produces enough engine output to rival supercars, for a 0-100km/h time of 3.7 seconds. The 5.0-litre supercharged petrol V8 generates peak power of 600ps (441kW). That is unchanged for the cars fitted with the Touring pack.

Jaguar plans to offer the Touring pack on just 15 units remaining to be built at the company's SVO (Special Vehicle Operations) Technical Centre in Warwickshire. All 15 vehicles will be four-seaters and the four colours available will be Valencia Orange, Velocity Blue, Corris Grey Satin and British Racing Green. In standard form the car will be assembled without the decals, but buyers can opt for the decals to be applied if they wish.

The Touring pack is a late arrival for the XE SV Project 8, which is why it will only be offered on 15 of the last Project 8 cars to be built, says James Scrimshaw, Product Public Affairs Manager at Jaguar Land Rover Australia.

"[Jaguar] can only put it on cars that they have left available to build," Scrimshaw explained.

"They're not modifying cars that are already sold and in market... it's for vehicles to be delivered. They can change to the 186 mile an hour body kit rather than the 200 mile an hour plus body kit...

"It's a no-cost option for those who wanted to drive it on the road."

Scrimshaw further advised that while the exclusively left-hook Project 8 cannot be registered for the road in Australia, there has been some interest here from prospective buyers who are either collectors or weekend racers. But the nature of the Touring pack makes it unlikely to be of particular interest to Australian customers, says Jaguar's Product Public Affairs Manager, James Scrimshaw.

"It's not going to be a road car in Australia – we can't see how it ever would be – [so] we haven't put that detail up on our website."

According to the Jaguar spokesman Project 8 has been a great promotional vehicle for the brand in Australia, but there's no point heavily promoting an option that would tone down the looks and reduce the outright speed of a high-performance track car that can't actually be driven on Australian roads.