New Donkervoort is a non-lethal weapon for the track
Demented Dutch car maker Donkervoort has unleashed a track-only edition of its most potent roadster.
The D8 GTO-JD70 R is based on a model developed to celebrate founder Joop Donkervort’s 70th birthday, but it has also been designed to “embarrass other sports cars and their owners and to make its own drivers feel like track superstars.”
Launching the car with plenty of bravado, the company claims, “It’s the fastest, most attacking, least compromised Donkervoort ever engineered, capable of smashing track records, winning races and doing it all on a fraction of the fuel, tire and brake budgets of traditional sports cars.”
The lightweight Donk weighs in at just 1576 pounds, meaning it has considerably less mass to start and stop than other cars. Getting it going, at significant speed, is a 420-hp, 2.5-liter turbocharged five-cylinder motor from Audi Sport, mated to a Quaife paddle-shift sequential gearbox, which allows for flat shifts. Stopping power is provided by hefty vented discs with monoblock calipers and a Bosch M5 Clubsport anti-lock system. Nankang slick racing tires are fitted.
Adjustable power steering is also included for the first time in a Donk and drivers can choose between ratios and adjust the level of assistance. The all-round double-wishbone suspension uses four-way adjustable Intrax dampers and adjustable anti-roll bars.
The car is some five seconds faster around the Spa-Francorchamps Grand Prix circuit than its road-going equivalent, and three seconds quicker than a Koenigesgg Regera.
As every Spider-Man fan knows, with great power comes great responsibility, so Donkervoort has seriously upped its safety game. There’s an increase in Ex-Core carbon fiber for side-impact protection, two carbon race seats with six-point harnesses, an F.I.A.-homologated fuel tank, built-in extinguishers, and a Blister Berg roll cage. This makes the D8 GTO-JD70 R compliant for all European race circuits.
The cost of shaming supercars on a circuit is €198,000 (£234,000, or $305,000) plus taxes, but Donkervoort insists that you’ll save a fortune on consumables compared to the million-dollar machines that you’ll be overtaking.
