After two years of close collaboration with Audi, Donkervoort announce the completion of their new open-top muscle car. The car shares the same engine as the TT-RS and, weighing in at just 1,540 pounds, is undoubtedly one of the most powerful cars on the European market.
Now that we’ve got that out of the way, you might be interested to know that the car was designed completely with SolidWorks 3D Design and Simulation software. Not only that, but they’ve used it to bring innovative new practices from the aviation and rocket industries to the automotive world.
The GTO incorporates a one-piece door design (including hinges), capable of withstanding a sideways impact of around 1500kg – the hinges themselves can withstand an impact of 1100kg! All this is capable with a door that weighs in at just under 1kg. This is all thanks to a combination of carbon composite materials, aviation design principles, and powerful design and simulation tools from SolidWorks. The innovation doesn’t stop here either – new anti-roll bars and a groundbreaking rear axle construction give the GTO extra stability and impressive handling.
Donkervoort are passionate about reducing the weight of their designs wherever possible and ensuring functional components are effective and easy to use. It’s clear why they rely on SolidWorks as the design software of choice – they use SolidWorks 3D Design to visualise their ideas and in conjunction with SolidWorks Simulation, optimise and validate their ideas into the highly engineered cars that result.
Click through to view a gallery of the stunning Donkervoort D8 GTO.
