What do you do when you need to make a more muscular, higher performing version of your top-of-the-line sports car without adding weight and drag to the equation?
If you're Donkervoort Automobielen -- a Dutch automaker specializing in high-performance, custom-built sports cars -- you rally the big guns in the form of computer-aided-engineering (CAE) simulation tools to help optimize the design in a timely fashion.
Donkervoort Automobielen employed SolidWorks Simulation to cut the number of vehicle prototypes of its D8 GTO by 50 percent.
When Donkervoort embarked on its latest design, the D8 GTO, it had a clear goal in mind: Make a newer, more modern version of the classic -- it should be more muscular and command higher horsepower, yet still retain the design DNA of the old vehicle it was replacing, according to Jordi Wiersema, Donkervoort's head of design engineering.
The new car was slated to sport a brawnier, five-cylinder engine with 400 brake horsepower, up from 270 brake horsepower, yet it needed to weigh in at under 700 kilograms. "It had to have a visible connection to the old cars we use to build," Wiersema told us.
The reason the car had to be bigger boiled down to a matter of safety, Wiersema said. Donkervoort wanted to include more passive safety components in the rear and side doors, and thus was looking to find ways, both structurally and materials-wise, to take weight out of the design.
With that goal in mind, there were two principle design challenges where simulation came into play. In the first, Donkervoort created a hybrid carbon fiber tubular steel chassis, which added strength to the D8 GTO while minimizing its weight, but at the same time, held up to force, stiffness, crash, and impact testing. The second challenge was around aerodynamics.
Using SolidWorks CAD and its integrated 3D Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Simulation FEA tools, Donkervoort was able to redesign and optimize the intake manifold and engine airflow, which helped resolve the open-wheel aerodynamic challenges, Wiersema said.
I found it humorous when the article talked about the vehicle size and the safety of the passengers. But with those huge open wheel front tires, I'd hate to be a pedestrian with that thing coming at me. Those tires would have an easy time pulling me under the wheels, even at very low speeds. IMO, open wheels like that should only be used on the track and never on the street.
And I thought the Pontiac Aztek was ugly, but this makes it look downright attractive. For some people, "taste" is all in their mouth.
Afficionados of "The Prisoner" will recall that the lead character, Number 6, played by the late Patrick McGoohan, drove a Lotus 7, which had a tendency to overheat in traffic. There was also a great book, about a decade ago, written by a guy inspired by the show to build his own Lotus 7 from scratch. (I think it was available as a kit car.) The book seems to be OP (out of print) though; couldn't find it on Amazon.
Have any of you guys and girls ever seen a Lotus Super 7? This car looks so much like one Lotus should cry copyright infringement. This car is very much in the TOY catagory no matter how much design engineering went into it. For many older drivers the seat height alone would be a problem. I'm glad that they could use the tools to optimize it, but it will always be for a splinter market. I also get a kick out of the comment, "It cut the number of prototypes by 50%." Was that from two to one? If I want a performance car I'll by a Corvette. Good support and an excellent bang for the buck.
Style is a subjective thing, one persons cute is anothers ugly. I find the subject of this article to be too throwback for my taste. Cycle fenders, come on. The drag on this thing is going to be through the roof for such a small car.
That's funny, Bill. I like its cartoonish look. Very over-the-top, a modern version of a 1940s roadster. Looks like it weights a ton, but apparently it doesn't.
Always fun to analyze carmaker claims from the comfort of an armchair. This one has many that raise one's eyebrows. 400 HP at 5400 rpm with no turbo from 2480cc - Really? 0 - 100 k/h in 3 seconds with RWD only? Less than 1500 lbs? Of course I don't read Dutch so I could have missed the magic ingredient.
But I love those numbers, it's what I'd love to drive. Now, about those looks....
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