Donkervoort’s new F22 is a 492-hp Audi-powered supercar

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Dutch supercar-maker Donkervoort mid-December revealed its newest model, the F22 — a track-ready titan with almost 500 horsepower, courtesy a souped-up Audi engine. The F22, a successor to the D8 model the company’s built for a decade, has a power-to-weight ratio of more than 600 hp per tonne – better than the original Bugatti Veyron – and comes driven by an Audi-sourced 2.5-litre engine inline-five tuned to 492 horses. Moreover, it has a five-speed transmission that drives power to the rear wheels through a limited-slip Torsen differential, allowing it to top 62 mph (100 km/h) from a standstill in 2.5 seconds.

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Its design comprises a tubular steel and carbon-fibre section with a removable roof. Donkervoort builds its via its production process — Ex-Core — which uses foam to apply pressure to carbon-fibre layers in a self-heating mould. From there, software and removable heat cartridges with built-in sensors ensure that heat is evenly distributed during moulding. The process costs 30 to 50 per cent less than traditional carbon-fibre processes, ostensibly.

“We made use of Ex-Core and added strength and created an integrated design that links to our heritage while advancing the F22’s design,” Jordi Wiersma, a Donkervoort design team lead, said in a statement. “We tried to make something much more modern and integrated with elements from the past so that the design was completely new and modern while referencing our long heritage.”

The car is noticeably bigger than its predecessor — it’s now some 4039 mm in overall length, and 1912 mm wide and 1105 mm high, making it longer, wider, and taller than the D8 series cars. It also has a larger cabin, offering an extra 80 mm of shoulder width and 100 mm of cabin length, for a roomier interior.

Of course, keeping its mass to a minimum was the goal for the road; it is, after all, a road-legal two-seater weighing in at 1,653 pounds (750 kg). The F22 also has a homologated WLTP combined emissions figure of 163 grams of CO2 per kilometre — 28 fewer than its 695-kilogram predecessor.

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The steering and handling have been improved from the D8 GTO, and it has wide Nankang tires (with 18 inches of diameter in front, and 19 inchers at the back) to grip paved surfaces. Donkervoort says the F22 can pull 2.15 G in turns, according to a statement. To fully stop, it has steel brakes with four-piston calipers that offer 1.2 G of deceleration.

The F22 is named after Filippa, the first child, born this year, of Donkervoort managing director Denis Donkervoort. Joop Donkervoort founded Donkervoort in 1978, and the Donkervoort family still owns the company.