All aboard the Donkervoort!
Meet the Donkervoort GTO-RS: Holland's next generation hell raiser
What. Is. That?
It’s barmy, right? Say hello to the Donkervoort GTO-RS: a suitably Dutch nutter that makes anything from Caterham immediately look like the weedy kid in class.
The company has been manufacturing the GTO for a while now – even setting a lap record at the Nürburgring Nordschleife in 2004 and 2006 – but the RS is the most banzai iteration yet.
Seriously though, what actually is it?
It’s one of the fastest street legal cars in the world, thanks to a lightweight tubular steel frame, carbon fibre body and the 2.5-litre, five-cylinder turbo engine from the Audi RS3 and TT RS. The lunatics at Donkervoort have pumped output to well over 380bhp in the past, so expect the featherweight GTO-RS to perform like a rocket-propelled pea.
Any word on how fast this thing is?
No official figures have been released yet, probably because the test pilots keep disintegrating, but Donkervoort says that this new model features revised body panels for improved aerodynamics, a double-clutch gearbox for lightning fast cog swaps and launch control for, erm, controlling the launch.
You don’t need to be a maths genius to work out that a 700kg car with that sort of power is going to be ‘hurty-face’ fast.
Does it have air conditioning and stuff?
No. But don’t panic, it doesn’t even have a roof, so there will be plenty of opportunity to dry that dripping brow and sodden palms. The interior can be pimped to include quilted leather seats, a leather transmission tunnel cover and leather door trims, but the rest of it looks like it has been lifted striaght from a Spitfire.
The only standout high-tech feature is a digital display that gives speed and rev readouts, but you’ll be too busy trying not to crash to notice that.
How much does it cost?
Expect to part with around £121,000, plus a few local taxes thrown in for good measure. That’s not far off a brand new Porsche 911 Turbo, and we know which one will be more comfortable.
Only 40 Donkervoort GTO-RS’s will be made, though, so it’s highly likely you’ll be one of the only people in the UK mad enough to own one. Kudos.
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Leon Poultney
Freelance Automotive and Tech Writer