Jaguar Project 7 And Project 8 Up For Grabs At Same Auction

With Jaguar about to say goodbye to both the V8 and its last petrol-powered sports car, now seems an appropriate time to reminisce some of its greatest hits. If you’ve got deep pockets, a pair of its most special skunkworks ‘Projects’ could be yours at auction in November.

Heading under the hammer at the Classic Motor Show, taking place 11 November at the NEC in Birmingham, will be a Jaguar F-Type Project 7 and an XE SV Project 8.

For the Project 7, Jag’s SV division took the F-Type’s convertible roof mechanism away to create a speedster - though did more underneath the reworked skin too. Its 5.0-litre supercharged V8 was boosted by 25bhp over the F-Type R for a total of 567bhp, and overall weight was reduced by 45kg - combining for a 0-62mph of 4.1 seconds and a 186mph top speed.

As well as standard-fit carbon brakes, the Project 7 also had a reworked suspension setup to help harness the extra power.

This particular example, one of 250 cars made (only 80 of which were sold to the UK), was first registered in 2016. The Goodwood Blue paint isn’t one often seen on fast Jaguars, but we think it works nicely with its white striping and number circle. Other treats include a ‘1 of 250’ plaque, yellow brake callipers, full PPF for the paintwork and a fitting ‘PR07 JUR’ licence plate. It’s expected to fetch up to £130,000.

Following on from the Project 7, SV turned its attention to the XE for its next creation. You can tell it apart from the regular car thanks to a mega aero kit, including swollen rear arches and a gigantic rear wing. Apparently, this can produce 186kg of downforce at 186mph.

It wasn’t just a case of slapping on some new bits and calling it a day, though - only the front doors and roof are carried over from the base car. The rest of the panels are bespoke for the Project 8, and made from carbon fibre.

Also using a 5.0-litre supercharged V8 sourced from the F-Type R, power was cranked up to 592bhp, aiding a 3.3-second 0-62mph sprint and a 200mph top speed despite the increased drag.

Other chassis changes include a manually adjustable suspension setup and upgraded carbon ceramic brakes.

This particular Project 8 was registered in 2020, and comes painted in Quad Coat SV Velocity Blue - along with a black decal package. It’s only covered 106 miles from new and, like every one of the 300 Project 8s, comes in left-hand-drive. It’s thought it could fetch up to £100,000 - quite a dip from the £149,995 list price when new, and we’re not sure it’ll depreciate any further.

You can check out the Project 7 lot here, and the 8 here, with both to be sold off by Iconic Auctioneers.