Donkervoort D8 GTO revealed
Oddball sports car returns with 400hp, new chassis and sub three seconds 0-62
Back in 2005, a virtually unheard of Dutch manufacturer with a distinctly Dutch name - Donkervoort - asked German race ace, Michael Duechting, to take its baby D8 RS for a spin. Seven minutes, fourteen seconds and 89 hundredths later, he was back ... setting the sixth fastest lap time on the Nordschleife.
'Lotus 7-on-acid' styling
Now, the D8 is back - more powerful, longer, wider, stiffer, safer and faster than before - in muscular GTO format, which MD Joop Donkervoort describes as 'a big step forward.' In fact, the GTO only uses around five per cent of the parts of the out-going RS and marks the start of a new generation of models.
The GTO features a brand new front and rear axle set-up and uses design lifted from the aviation industry, including an ultra-light, super-strong tubular steel chassis, with trick one-piece carbon composite body panels. The doors are manufactured with integrated hinges, weigh less than a bag of sugar (980g) and are built to withstand a 1,100kg impact.
Power comes from Audi TT RS lump
Donkervoort is promising 'a total driving experience, with greater precision and stability' and says the GTO is the fastest car it's ever built.
Projected performance figures include 0-124mph in 6.1 seconds. Maybe a spot in the Green Hell hall of fame top five could be on the cards?
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I like this shot>>
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
king scary....http://youtu.be/WLZGQ4gIs5M
(also, this was actually released in December 2011, not really headline news! - http://bit.ly/Qy0TYq )
Back in the late 1970s, Joop Donkervoort became the Dutch agent for Caterham, and found himself in a spot of trouble trying to get the car to comply with Dutch Type Approval standards. By the time he had re-designed the car to suit, he was well on his way to doing it all from scratch, which is what eventually became the Donkervoort Super Seven, followed by the S8 (Super Eight) and various iterations of the D8 - which was/is the immediate precursor to this new model.
Back in the late 1970s, Joop Donkervoort became the Dutch agent for Caterham, and found himself in a spot of trouble trying to get the car to comply with Dutch Type Approval standards. By the time he had re-designed the car to suit, he was well on his way to doing it all from scratch, which is what eventually became the Donkervoort Super Seven, followed by the S8 (Super Eight) and various iterations of the D8 - which was/is the immediate precursor to this new model.
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