Donkervoort celebrates its founder's 70th birthday with the D8 GTO-JD70

There are major car brands that everyone knows, and there are other car brands that are only known to a few enthusiasts of powerful cars. Donkervoort belongs to the latter. It is a small German company that has specialised in powerful, luxury cars, the kind you feel like driving at least once. We have talked on other occasions about the models they launch, very occasionally. But this one is special.

The Donkervoort D8 GTO-JD70 is a special edition of the already well-known D8 GTO, but this one has been designed and built in honour of the company’s founder, who turns 70 this year, and the company wants to pay tribute to him. Unfortunately, they have published nothing more than two images of the car and have not given much data about its performance.

Aesthetically, it keeps a look similar to the basic model, so no major changes to the bodywork design are expected. What we see in the revealed images is that the bodywork is painted in green and a livery reminiscent of a competition car, as a model of these characteristics should be.

This model, like the car it is based on, has the main feature of being designed for those who enjoy a very free driving style, without depending on technology. The instrument panel is designed to feel the driving experience without restrictions, so we forget about driver assistance, automatic gearbox and other modern elements.

It is a convertible, so it is not for driving in unstable weather, and you should only get behind the wheel if you want to feel the power of its turbocharged five-cylinder engine with a capacity of 2.5 litres, sourced from Audi Sport. The weight of this model is limited to just under 700 kg, so with this engine it achieves an acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in under 3 seconds, so the “unfiltered driving” idea is definitely present.

Only 70 units of this special variant will be manufactured, and deliveries will begin between 2020 and 2021, with a starting price of 163,636 euros.