With the F22, Donkervoort presents a successor to the D8 GTO. Thanks to a lot of carbon fiber, the weight-performance ratio is top. Interested parties get a second chance - Donkervoort increases the production volume again.
Donkervoort from Lelystad, north-east of the Dutch capital Amsterdam, builds super-light 7-Cars (Seven Cars), i.e. cars inspired by the Lotus 7 with an excellent power-to-weight ratio. Donkervoort's latest model is called the F22. The car, whose name is reminiscent of the US manufacturer Lockheed Martin's F-22 fighter, succeeds the D8 GTO, the production of which ended at the end of 2022.
The chassis of the F22 consists of thin tubular steel and carbon fiber, while Donkervoort builds the body entirely of carbon fiber. The entire car weighs only 750 kilograms. The 2.5-liter five-cylinder Audi engine should easily handle this weight with its 500 hp - after all, one hp has to move just 1.5 kilograms. The power is distributed via a manual five-speed gearbox - compared to a six or seven-speed gearbox, the five-speed box weighs at least twelve kilograms less, according to Donkervoort. In addition, the gearbox is shorter, which means that the engine can move further towards the center of the vehicle.
Adjustable dampers and racing brakes
The F22's dampers are adjustable and its brakes come from AP Racing - they are said to enable a 30 percent shorter braking distance compared to the D8 GTO. Unlike the D8 GTO, the F22 grows in length, width and height (4.04m long, 1.91m wide and 1.1m high) to give passengers more space. This results in a weight gain of 55 kilograms. Anyone who removes the Targa roof and orders carbon fiber wheels saves weight: the standard aluminum rims weigh twelve kilograms each, the carbon rims only 5.4 kilograms. So there is a saving of 26.4 kilograms over all four wheels.
Donkervoort does not publish most of the driving data of the F22 yet. However, the Dutch are promising a top speed of 290 km/h, which is extremely fast for a light 7-Car that is actually designed for cornering fun. The lateral acceleration in the curves should be up to 2.15 g.
Donkervoort initially only wanted to build 50 copies of the F22 - but they were sold out as soon as the model was announced. So the manufacturer put another 25 copies on it - but they were gone in no time at all. The F22 is not a bargain with a starting price of 291,550 euros. In March 2023, Donkervoort announced that another 25 units would be built, bringing total production to 100 units. The first deliveries took place at the beginning of 2023. With the extended production run, the planned production time of the F22 will also be extended from the end of 2024 to mid-2025.
Conclusion
With the F22, Donkervoort presents its latest 7-Car. The athlete offers significantly more space for its occupants than its predecessor, the D8 GTO. In addition, it has been technically further developed and should, for example, enable a significantly shorter braking distance. The 2.5-liter Audi five-cylinder engine tuned by Donkervoort to the F22 delivers 500 hp – with a vehicle weight of 750 kg, one hp has to move just 1.5 kg.
It's not the best power-to-weight ratio for a sports car, but it's definitely extremely good. The Koenigsegg One:1, for example, is better, in which one horsepower is responsible for just one kilogram. Overall, however, the Koenigsegg is almost twice as heavy as the Donkervoort. In the ranks of the 7-Cars, for example, the 520-kilogram Caterham Seven RST-V with its 507 hp and a resulting power-to-weight ratio of 1.03 hp per kilogram is well ahead of the new F22.
