Production of the Donkervoort D8 GT commenced last week in The Netherlands based factory. The Dutch specialty automaker is looking to produce 50 D8 GTs each year with an estimated entry cost of 90,000 euros. The D8 GT was originally unveiled at the 2007 Geneva Auto Show and has been in final development stages since. The car itself is an interesting car based upon the open-top D8 roadster but with significant improvements.

The D8 GT weighs only 1,400 lbs. thanks to its extensive use of aluminum, carbon fiber, and fiberglass. It also is equipped with a 265 horsepower 1.8 liter turbocharged Audi engine that is capable of pushing this light weight car from zero to 60 in under 4 seconds. With a weight to power ratio better then a Viper we can only expect this car to be pretty quick.

Of course the first thing you notice about the aggressive styling is the hardtop, the first one in the marques 30 year history to be exact. The D8 GT also has integrated headlights, an overhauled front fascia and larger air intakes. The wheel base has also been stretched 8 cm over the D8, and now incorporates a redesigned suspension system. The suspension includes double wishbones mated to adjustable shocks that can be adjusted for perfect handling.

Donkervoort expects the D8 GT will come very close if not break the Nurburgring record for street-legal cars. The first D8 GT will be ready to hit the market by late summer. Lotus and Caterham will have some serious competition with this new little minimalistic coupe.

Tags: D8 GT, Donkervoort, Dutch, Production

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 29th, 2008 at 6:00 am and is filed under Auto News, Coupes/2dr, Geneva Motor Show, Sports Cars, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.