The Jaguar XE’s Set Another Lap Record… This Time With A Twist

The Jaguar XE has claimed another lap record. But this time it wasn’t the SV Project 8 that made the run. And it wasn’t on a currently used circuit, either.

In a rare record run, Jaguar claimed the lap record for production sedans at the Circuit de Charade, the former home of the French Grand Prix that hasn’t been used (in its full configuration) since 1988.

Instead of the supercharged eight-cylinder XE SV Project 8, this time Jaguar deployed the standard production XE 300 Sport. The compact luxury sedan packs a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine rated at 296 horsepower (221 kW) and 295 lb-ft (400 Nm) of torque – making it roughly half as potent as the SV Project 8, which kicks out 592 hp (441 kW) and 516 lb-ft (700 Nm) of torque. And it’s heavier too, without the stripped-out performance special’s extensive weight-reduction measures. So where the SV model will hit 60 mph (96 km/h) in 3.3 seconds, the XE 300 Sport takes 5.4 seconds.

Still, Jaguar managed to lap the old 5-mile (8-kilometer) track in four minutes and nine seconds. That was not only the quickest any production sedan has ever lapped the circuit, but the first full lap performed in some 30 years now since it was closed. And it had some modern impediments to contend with, including a roundabout (traffic circle) and a couple of narrow gateways, splicing together the original layout from the shorter 2.5-mile (4-kilometer) track still in use and the now-public roadways of which it once consisted. (The fastest overall lap, in case you were wondering, was set by Chris Amon in a Matra F1 car at 2:53.9 way back in 1972.)

“I set the production saloon record at the Nürburgring in the XE SV Project 8 last year and this lap was every bit as demanding,” said driver Vincent Radermecker. “The agility, dynamic handling of the XE 300 SPORT came into its own on this challenging track. The longest straight is barely 600 metres, so I can see why drivers used to call this the French Nürburgring. It’s a privilege to drive this track and it’s really special to drive here with Jaguar.”

The achievement follows the production-sedan lap records achieved by the SV Project 8 at both the Nürburgring and Laguna Seca, further cementing the XE’s place as one of the best-performing sedans you can get your hand on.