To unveil its new 300 Sport Edition trim level, Jaguar raced the new version of the XE against Olympic speed skating gold medallist Shaolin Sandor Liu on the world’s longest outdoor ice circuit.
Jaguar’s Sean Haughey was joined by Shaolin’s girlfriend and British skater Elise Christie in the XE, which employs all-wheel drive and traction technologies to keep the car going on the slippery surface.
The 3km-long Flevonice circuit can be navigated by a skater of Shaolin’s calibre in 4 minutes 4 seconds, but the XE was able to lap the track in 3 minutes 3 seconds at an average speed of 36mph.
After the race, Shaolin said: “I thought I would have a big advantage over the car on the ice and was pretty happy with my time considering the conditions but when I saw the XE 300 Sport take off from the start line, I had a feeling it would be faster.”
Following her experience in the passenger seat, Christie said: “I was desperate to pit myself against the XE 300 Sport but sitting in the passenger seat gave me an experience I’ll never forget. I didn’t think it would be able to lap the track as quickly as an Olympic Champion, but the Jaguar’s all-wheel-drive traction was really impressive.”
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The 300 Sport Edition is available on XE, XF and XF Sportbrake models and are fitted with the 295bhp 2.0-litre Ingenium petrol engine – with the TDV6 3.0-litre diesel also available to the XF models.
All the 300 Sport Edition models come with satin grey detailing on the mirror caps, rear spoiler and grille surround, as well as grey alloy wheels in 19- or 20-inch and 300 Sport designation on the body and brake calipers.
Inside, models get yellow contrast stitching on the seats, steering wheel, armrest and door trim, which complement the equipment installed on the highly-specced vehicles.
Available to order now, the XE Sport 300 Edition starts from £45,160.
