Jaguar breaks Nürburgring record…again!

It’s the classic tale of a Jaguar Project 8 breaking a Nurburgring record all over again, so what’s changed this time?

This story has a real sense of deja-vu (same place, same driver, same car…) but this time there’s a new lap time, and Jaguar is pleased to report it’s even better than last time!

Back in 2017, still in its prototype stage, the Jaguar XE SV Project 8 set a lap time of just 7 minutes 21.23 seconds. This was impressive enough to break the record and beat Alfa Romeo’s top time of 7 minute 32 seconds in 2016, which they set with the Giulia Quadrifoglio.

Following on from this success, albeit over a year later, Jaguar decided to have another stab at the record and face the infamous 12.9-mile circuit one more time.

On July 8th 2019, Project 8 development driver Vincent Radermecker took his place behind the wheel again and after attacking the course for a second time, crossed the line in an officially-verified time that was 2.9 seconds faster than before.

Jaguar had achieved a 20.6km lap in 7 minutes 18.361 seconds, meaning their full-length 20.832km lap was just 7 minutes 23.164 seconds.

These figures mean that the Project 8 has risen above all other four-door production cars that have taken on the German circuit, slicing 7 seconds off even the fastest previous time.

Jaguar broke both records using their range-topping two-seat Track Pack variant and, whilst there were no modifications made, the winning car had a few features that are sure to have helped it on its way.

These included ‘track’ ride height settings, downforce enhancing front splitter and rear wing, forged 20 inch rims, racier seats and a fully-enclosed flat underbody to make it super aerodynamic.

Perhaps most important of all were the chosen tyres, as tested by SV engineers. The wheels were wrapped in ultra-high performance, road-legal Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tyres with competition-grade rubber compound that may have given it the edge over the previous Project 8.

The limited-edition, Jaguar Special Vehicle Operations-developed XE SV Project 8 is Jaguar’s quickest model right now and easily their most extreme performance car, but sadly production is now coming to an end.