This crazy Dutch sports car will lay waste to skidpads

Back in 1978, Dutch enthusiast Joop Donkervoort started his namesake sports car company wondering how far he could take Colin Chapman’s Lotus Super Seven idea. By now, after more than 40 years in the business, Donkervoort’s portfolio includes several impressive evolutions of the famous engineering exercise.

Starting next spring, there will be a new variant of the Donkervoort D8 GTO. Dubbed the D8 GTO-JD70, it is limited to 70 units—one for each year Joop Donkervoort has spent on this planet so far. Happy 70th, Joop!

In the JD70 tune, Audi-sourced 2.5-liter five-cylinder turbo is tuned to produce 415 horsepower in a car weighing under 1550 pounds. And although the D8 GTO-JD70 only exists in the digital space as of this writing, Donkervoort is already claiming some wild acceleration and cornering figures.

Namely, 1.02 g of peak acceleration from a standing start and up to 2 g of lateral acceleration through the corners. If that sounds rather ambitious, consider how low the JD70’s center of gravity is, its wide-track suspension and tire package, and power-to-weight ratio of 3.71 pound per hp.

The JD70 features adjustable anti-roll bars at each end, along with custom springs, three-way adjustable shock absorbers, and a new limited-slip differential with a taller 1:3.31 final drive. The body consists of over 95 percent carbon-fiber construction and sports a shorter version of the trademark side-dump exhaust system, with a new catalyst that somehow allows Joop’s birthday present to pass EU6D-Temp emissions rules.

Thanks to Bosch’s software, Donkervoort’s close-ratio five-speed manual also comes with rev-matching capability for downshifts and a full-throttle upshift mode—handy for when you’re strapped into carbon-fiber bucket seats, staring at a carbon-fiber dash.

The price for this Dutch toy that’s definitely for adults? €163.636,36 ($182,000) before taxes. No doubt a great deal if your list of hobbies includes out-cornering McLaren 600LTs and Ferrari 488 Pistas on track.

Shine on, you crazy Dutchman.