Tuesday 20 December 2011

Road - Stupid name, Mad car!

Going Dutch will have a new meaning when the Donkervoort GTO goes on sale next year. Working with Audi Quattro GmbH, the Netherlands based Donkervoort Automobielen company has been working on this modern twist on the Lotus 7 theme.

Depending on the engine spec, this 700 kg machine will have anything from 340 up to 400 hp (controlled by a switch on the dashboard) and 450 Nm of torque from its five cylinder 2.5 litre TFSI Audi motor. As an example of the engineering that has gone into the bonkers device, Donkervort has shaved 30 kgs off the weight of the engine alone by re-designing and engineering ancilleries.

At a recent private preview of the new machine, orders were received for half of the first batch of 25 cars to be built! Production will start early next year with the first cars ready for delivery in the summer. The price of the new GTO is expected to be pitched somewhere between €100,000 and €150,000.
 
The steel tubular frame has been clothed with glued-on carbon composite panels and which includes a rather unique one piece forward/upward hinged door which weighs only 988 gms, but more importantly can withstand a sideways blow of around 1500 kilos.

The fact that sideways impacts are mentioned makes you wonder about the stability of the rear wheel drive machine, but then again, it does have Traction Control fitted! Whatever, it sounds a dose of fun.

Donkervoort haven’t released any actual performance figures as yet, other than saying it will cover the 0 to 62 mph sprint in 3 seconds – and that’s with a five speed ‘box.

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