Jaguar F-TYPE Project 7 confirmed

Even quicker than the prototype shown 12 months ago, the striking new Jaguar F-TYPE Project 7 sports car has been approved for production and will make its public debut at this weekend's 2014 Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK.

Boasting a signature rear buttress that differentiates it from garden-variety F-TYPE (and akin to the now 60-year-old Jaguar D-Type), the hardcore Jag is powered by a 423kW version of the company's tried-and-tested 5.0-litre supercharged petrol V8 engine.

"Modern, purposeful and with a stance that screams intent, F-TYPE Project 7 is the perfect contemporary embodiment of the D-type that inspired it," said Ian Callum, Jaguar Design Director.

The supercharged Jaguar pumps out 18kW more than Jaguar's previous heavy hitter, the 405kW XKR-S GT, and unlike the single-seater Project 7 concept car from a year ago, the production version will have two seats.

Just 250 versions of what is now the fastest and most powerful Jaguar ever made will go into production but it's not yet clear if the vehicle will be offered in Australia.

Jaguar Australia executives are currently in the UK and are looking at "options" for Australian customers interested in the supercharged rear-drive V8 sports car, which is expected to be priced at around £135,000 in the UK, which is roughly $245,000.

Likely to be released in Europe in mid-2015, Jaguar Australia is set to make an announcement within two weeks about Project 7's local arrival, pricing, and specification.

Although Project 7 won't be badged SVR like the new Range Rover Sport SVR model, it has been tuned by JLR's AMG-rivalling in-house skunk works tuner, Special Vehicle Operations, the engineering arm of the Special Operations team.

Compared to the regular F-TYPE, the Project 7 is now 80kg lighter at 1585kg, thanks to a diet high in carbon-fibre and aluminium, and it accelerates from 0-100km/h in 3.9 seconds.

Top speed is electronically limited to 300km/h (186mph), and power delivery has been improved via tweaks to the eight-speed Quickshift auto transmission and the fitment of an electronic active rear differential and torque vectoring.

Lump in several carbon-fibre aerodynamic aids, including a front splitter, side skirts, rear diffuser and adjustable rear wing, and several chassis tweaks, and the Jaguar F-TYPE Project 7 appears likely to live up to the PR hyperbole as the most potent leaping cat yet.

Bigger, stronger carbon ceramic matrix disc brakes measure a whopping 398mm at the front and 380mm at the rear, and are fitted as standard with six- and four-pot monobloc calipers, ensuring fade-free performance says Jaguar.

Adjustable front and rear dampers and springs will appeal to track-day enthusiasts, and the sleek sports car also gets new front suspension knuckles, revised top mounts and firmer anti-roll bars front and rear to improve at-the-limit cornering control.

Featuring a removable roof, the wild sports car rides on 20-inch gloss black wheels fitted with gumball Pirelli P-Zero tyres and is fitted with matt-black ceramic coated-quad exhaust system complete with bypass valves for extra 'braaap'.

Add an adaptive dynamics systems that "actively controls vertical body movement, roll and pitch rates" and you're looking at the fastest, most capable Jaguar ever built.

Bring on the Nurburgring lap times!