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Jaguar reckons it has created 'the ultimate Q-car' by toning down the somewhat OTT body kit of its 600hp XE SV Project 8 super-saloon. SV stands for Special Vehicles, Jaguar Land Rover's skunkworks special engineering division, and the people behind the likes of the Project 8, the F-Type SVR and the Range Rover Sport SVR.
The Project 8 has been one of the hardest-hitting super-saloons around since it was launched last year, with 600hp from a much-modified 5.0-litre supercharged V8 petrol engine, giving it the ability to sprint from 0-100km/h in just 3.7 seconds.
It's always been at the more cartoony end of the styling scale, though, with a massive adjustable rear wing sitting atop the boot lid, and big Jaguar logos stuck to the side. Well, now you can make your roaring, snarling, unhinged super-saloon that bit more subtle, as Jaguar is adding the option of a 'Touring Specification' model. Only 15 of these are going to be built, so better snap one up fast if you want one.
The most obvious difference is the deletion of the big rear wing, which is replaced by a slim and sensible lip spoiler on the edge of the boot lid. Jaguar claims that the car's performance figures are unchanged, and that the XE SV Project 8's top speed remains limited to 300km/h.
The big, slightly daft, side graphics have gone too, although the dramatically flared arches and big, deep front airdam, and massive rear diffuser panel, are still present and correct. More subtle it may be, but you're never going to confuse this for a basic XE D180.
As before, the Project 8 - which holds saloon car lap records at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, Dubai Autodrome and Laguna Seca in California - is available only as a four-seater, and comes in a choice of Valencia Orange, Velocity Blue, Corris Grey Satin and British Racing Green paint finishes.
Jamal Hameedi, Engineering Director, Jaguar Special Vehicle Operations, said: "Project 8 has received outstanding critical acclaim since its launch, demonstrating the Special Vehicle Operations team's ability to create a compact Jaguar sedan with supercar-rivalling performance. Touring specification extends the appeal of Project 8 to performance car enthusiasts and collectors who prefer a more discreet appearance, without compromising its driver-focused on-road dynamics."