Donkervoort D8 GTO-JD70

The JD70’s 2480cc five-cylinder turbo motor has won nine consecutive International Engine of the Year awards in its class.
It also gives us more power and torque than ever in the nose of the JD70.

There’s a lot of power, with 415bhp, but the trick is the torque. It’s so strong everywhere – with the peak hitting as low as 1750rpm and holding on until 6350rpm – that we’ve fitted the JD70 with taller final gearing without losing any acceleration.

We’ve exploited this phenomenal engine flexibility by keeping the same gear ratios, but lengthening the final drive ratio. This means more relaxed cruising, better fuel economy and even fewer gear changes per lap. Not that the JD70’s gear changes are a chore, because we have a full-throttle system for upshifts and a Bosch rev-matching system for downshifts.

Try to stop yourself from smiling when you use them…

Eight seconds of rocketing will carry you 83 metres (albeit vertically), while the JD70 will blast you to 200km/h. The rocket would be travelling at 20 metres per second, but the Dutch missile will be at 56m/s. Even then, the JD70 driver will have 0.3 seconds to spare, because it reaches the double century in just 7.7 seconds (after breaching 100km/h in only 2.7 seconds).

Not only that, but the five-cylinder, turbocharged engine is cleaner than ever, with just 191 grams/km of CO2 emissions, and even stronger at low revs.

That allowed us to return the side-pipe exhaust system and give the JD70 a taller final-drive ratio (which gives it a higher top speed and calmer cruising) without losing any acceleration.