Did you know that nearly half of the 70 Donkervoort D8 GTO-JD70s ordered so far have featured at least some form of Bare Naked Carbon panelling? The option, which applies lacquer directly to the carbon bodywork, has proved so popular that the Dutch firm has gone and launched a lacquer-only model, called the Bare Naked Carbon Edition. It shaves 6kg from the total weight, which is, well, not a lot. But the car was only 700kg to begin with.
It didn’t exactly need more power to weight, either, because the BNCE gets Audi's 415hp TFSI five-pot under its bonnet and close-ratio five-speed manual for a 2.7 second 0-62mph time and even more ridiculous 7.7 second 0-124mph sprint. Just to emphasise - that’s with a manual ‘box and a clutch pedal to push. The D8 special ed – named GTO-JD70 to celebrate founder Joop Donkervoort’s 70th – is a slightly more ferocious version of a bloody mad car. Which automatically makes us fans.
Buyers can choose between a matte or polished finish for their car’s clear coat, or coloured lacquer that just leaves the weave visible. More than 95 per cent of the JD70’s bodywork is carbon, so it’s a fairly substantial alteration, at least aesthetically. Realistically, the change is going to have no measurable effect on overall performance, but there is a mammoth amount of that anyway – illustrated by claims for a 2G peak of lateral force through corners.
The JD70 is claimed as the first production car to achieve that, by the way, and Donkervoort says it’s partly helped via the switch to Nankang semi-slicks, wrapped around the 17- and 18-inch rims. They’re the end points of a chassis setup comprising a tubular steel ladder frame with carbonfibre and aluminium add-ons, as well as double-wishbone suspension and three-way adjustable Intrax dampers. The anti-roll bars are adjustable, as is the variable traction control system. Braking is handled by six-piston calipers with 310mm discs at the front, and single piston calipers with 285mm discs at the rear.
Suffice it to say the BNCE changes are icing on a very sweet open-wheel cake. Prices start at €163.636,36 before taxes for the JD70, which equates to about £178k with VAT. Not cheap by any means, but this is about as fast and visceral as things on four wheels get, in the rarest of rare guises.
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