I’ve never heard of Donkervoort Automobielen or even know how to pronounce the name but I do like their crazy looking roadster called the D8 GTO. Donkervoort Automobielen is a Dutch car company who developed the D8 GTO in collaboration with Audi.
The D8 GTO roadster is powered by a 2.5 liter 5-cylinder turbocharged engine which is normally found under the hoods of the Audi RS3 and TT RS. The 2.5 liter engine went through a major transformation and weighs 66 pounds less than in Audi trim and it produces 340 horsepower which can be increased to 400 with the flip of a red toggle switch on the dashboard.
The Donkervoort D8 GTO’s body is made out of lightweight carbon composites and the chassis is formed out of tubular carbon fiber, steel, and aluminum. The entire car weighs only 1,550 pounds (700 kg) which helps it reach the 62 mph mark in a lightning quick 3.0 seconds with a top speed of 159 mph. The acceleration numbers are pretty impressive.
The design of the Donkervoort D8 GTO is pretty nice; it’s like a go-kart (with a long nose) on steroids. The only thing I don’t like about the design is the Lamborghini scissor doors, those doors should only be place on a Lambo, no other car should ever have them. The driver and passenger sit low in the car in some very uncomfortable looking bucket seats. This is a no-nonsense pedal-to-the-metal car, so don’t look for luxury amenities like a radio, power windows, navigation system, and other bells and whistles that can be found in a modern sports car.
The Donkervoort D8 GTO roadster will be available as a limited edition model in 2012, only 25 pieces will be produced, and regular models will be available in 2013 with prices in the range of €100,000 to €150,000 or about $130,000 – $195,000 at today’s exchange rate.
Donkervoort D8 GTO Roadster Pictures
This is an ok review but your claim that;
“The only thing I don’t like about the design is the Lamborghini scissor doors, those doors should only be place on a Lambo, no other car should ever have them.”
bothers be a little and makes me think that you are jaded and/or are not a true petrolhead.
What bugs me is people who claim to be ‘true’ petrolheads still don’t know the truth or anything close to it. The fact that Lamborghini was indeed the first manufacture to mass produce with scissor doors does not automatically mean they must have been the first to come up with the idea; it was actually Alfa Romeo in the 1960s with a concept car of theirs.
On another note, the Donkervoort (said as ‘don-cur-vort’) does not have scissor doors; if you’ve ever seen this car in person or seen the thing in action from videos, you’d know this (or at least I’d hope you would).
Scissor doors are doors that move on a vertical plain only. up and down, no horizontal motion at all. While butterfly doors swing out like the norm but upward and are typically hinged at the traditional points (just behind the fender). Also, scissor doors were not made for flash, they actually have practical use, especially in a car as small as a Lamborghini and every other car that has them. Bottom line, all door configurations (with the exception of some) were devised for a very good reason and not for a flashy factor.
In the Donkervoort’s case, some people would classify the doors as Gull-wing since one of the 2 hinges is right on the roof (D8 GT) and on the windscreen frame (D8 GTO). These doors swing out in an upward motion until they are in a stationary vertical position as shown in one of the pictures of this article.
Sorry I went a little crazy there but your comment just presented an itch to me that I just had to scratch with a steel rake.