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2023 Donkervoort F22 First Look: Old School Setup With a New Flair
You could buy a mid-engine Italian Ferrari or Lamborghini for the same amount of money, but that would be boring, wouldn't it?
You could buy a mid-engine Ferrari or a Lamborghini for the same money. But that would be boring, wouldn’t it?
Tiny Dutch automaker Donkervoort started in 1978 building modified versions of Colin Chapman's iconic Lotus Seven sports car, each successive model over the years gaining more power and more performance, with chassis mods to match. The 2023 Donkervoort F22, the company's first car designed entirely in-house, hews to Chapman's mantra of light weight and simplicity, but dials the power and performance all the way up to eleven.
Some numbers, and some context: The F22 weighs just 1654 pounds and packs 492 horsepower courtesy of a tweaked version of the Audi RS 3's turbocharged, 2.5-liter, inline five-cylinder engine under the hood. That gives it a weight to power ratio of just under 3.4 lb/hp, which is better than that of a Bugatti Chiron Super Sport and on par with that of a McLaren P1. Donkervoort claims the F22 will slingshot from 0 to 60 mph in less than 2.5 seconds, from 0 to 124 mph in 7.5 seconds, hit a top speed of 180 mph, and pull 2.15 g through corners.
Best of all, it's all done the old-school way. Yes, the F22 has racecar-style adjustable traction control, but the engine's 492 horses, which arrive at 6360 rpm, and its 472 lb-ft of torque at 5150 rpm, are funneled to the rear wheels by way of a five-speed stick shift transmission, a clutch pedal and a Torsen diff. No flappy paddles and trick electronics to help you drive like an F1 superstar, though a standard Bosch rev-matching system can be switched on if you need help honing your heel-and-toe downshifts.
The F22 is built on a brand-new hybrid steel-tube and carbon-fiber chassis that has twice the torsional and bending rigidity of the outgoing Donkervoort D8 GTO Individual Series. Suspension is multi-link front and rear, with height adjustable active shocks that offer six different damping settings and can raise or lower the car 1.4in. Standard steering is unassisted and quick, needing just 2.7 turns of the wheel to go from lock to lock. EPS is available as an option."
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