Tuesday 14th August 2012
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
Only the Radical SR8LM (6:48.00), Radical SR8 (6:55.00), Gumpert Apollo Speed (7:11.57), Dodge Viper SRT-10 ACR (7:12.13) and Lexus LFA Nurburgring Package (7:14.64) sit above the diminutive Donkervoort: that's how quick this Lotus Seven alike, open-wheeled, open-roofed Netherlands nutter is.
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
The GTO is now powered by a 340hp longitudinally-mounted Audi 2.5-litre five-cylinder turbo from the TT RS. And with Donkervoort modifications, including a super-lightweight intake manifold (saving 30kg) and 'race module' mode raising turbo boost and advancing ignition, the first 25 will produce 400hp ... in a 700kg shell.
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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GTRene
Original Poster
7,763 posts
93 months
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900T-R
18,560 posts
126 months
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THIRTY kilograms saved on the intake manifold alone? Crikey...
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chrisironside
117 posts
31 months
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This is what's known as a Sally Gunnell motor...
Not pleasant to look at, but pretty damn fast.
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StottyZr
4,102 posts
32 months
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GTRene said: said: Projected performance figures include 0-124mph in 6.1 seconds that is fast... I take it thats theoretical? Thats, very very fast
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rtz62
367 posts
24 months
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Looks like the alien in the 'Alien' films. Ugly and apparently pretty f  king scary....
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rocketride
115 posts
31 months
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This is cool as f k!
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Beefmeister
10,825 posts
99 months
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garwood1
6 posts
17 months
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The bonnet looks like it was nicked off a riding mower...
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jason61c
1,029 posts
43 months
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cabbron
369 posts
86 months
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what were they sccccmoking, looks like a wheelie bin-albeit a very fast one
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DrTre
12,428 posts
101 months
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Always loved Donkervoorts.
For some reason they remind me of the Giger Alien.
Stupid fast.
Love it.
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AyBee
5,252 posts
71 months
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chrisironside said: This is what's known as a Sally Gunnell motor...
Not pleasant to look at, but pretty damn fast. Really? I love the looks!
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vincegail
1,011 posts
24 months
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The 6,1 seconds are the time it takes to go from 100 km/h to 200 km/h (62 mph to 124 mph). Still rather fast, though.
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tyinsky
444 posts
28 months
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That's what Caterham should be doing alongside the Seven.
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900T-R
18,560 posts
126 months
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tyinsky said: That's what Caterham should be doing alongside the Seven. Ironically, what you see here is a development of the Caterham Seven. 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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Oddball RS
1,194 posts
87 months
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VAG please note your inlet manifold seems to weigh too much!
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vincegail
1,011 posts
24 months
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900T-R said: Ironically, what you see here is a development of the Caterham Seven.
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. Thx Eric for the information!
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Mark-C
1,716 posts
74 months
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Is that intake manifold weight saving true? If so - just how much does the standard one weigh? A shocking example of much that is wrong with modern car manufacture.
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993RSGT3
56 posts
43 months
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AyBee said: chrisironside said: This is what's known as a Sally Gunnell motor...
Not pleasant to look at, but pretty damn fast. Really? I love the looks! The car or Sally?
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SammyW
627 posts
89 months
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Not sure about the looks, but i bet it sounds sweet with that engine!
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