{"id":76420,"date":"2026-07-22T19:18:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T23:18:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.globalvillagespace.com\/tech\/?p=76420"},"modified":"2026-07-22T19:18:31","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T23:18:31","slug":"donkervoort-p24-rs-challenges-british-sports-car-tradition-with-radical-power-and-analogue-character","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.globalvillagespace.com\/tech\/donkervoort-p24-rs-challenges-british-sports-car-tradition-with-radical-power-and-analogue-character\/","title":{"rendered":"Donkervoort P24 RS Challenges British Sports Car Tradition with Radical Power and Analogue Character"},"content":{"rendered":"

How Does the Donkervoort P24 RS Redefine the Lightweight Sports Car for the UK Market?<\/p>\n

The Donkervoort P24 RS enters the British automotive landscape not merely as a foreign curiosity, but as a pointed challenge to the entrenched orthodoxy of lightweight sports cars. Historically, the UK has been both the crucible and the citadel for this genre, with Lotus and Caterham long defining its boundaries. Donkervoort\u2019s decision to offer a right-hand-drive model for the first time, therefore, is less an act of commercial expansion than a calculated intervention in a market that has, arguably, grown insular in its tastes and expectations.<\/p>\n

The evidence suggests that Donkervoort\u2019s approach is not to mimic but to subvert. The P24 RS is physically larger than its British antecedents, a fact that may initially seem heretical to purists who venerate the Lotus Seven\u2019s compactness. Yet this dimensional inflation is not arbitrary. It reflects both the anthropometric realities of the Dutch population and a deliberate effort to broaden the car\u2019s usability\u2014witness the 298-litre boot, a feature that quietly rebukes the genre\u2019s traditional disdain for practicality.<\/p>\n

The car\u2019s construction further complicates any attempt to pigeonhole it as a mere Seven derivative. Donkervoort\u2019s use of \u2018Ex-Core\u2019 carbonfibre and a hybrid chassis architecture signals a willingness to invest in advanced materials science, not for its own sake, but to offset the mass penalties of increased size. The result: a kerb weight of 840kg, only modestly above the featherweight benchmarks of the class, yet with a claimed doubling of torsional rigidity over previous generations. Such claims, while impressive, should be interpreted cautiously; they are contingent on laboratory conditions and may not fully capture the car\u2019s dynamic behavior on the notoriously variable surfaces of British B-roads.<\/p>\n

What Distinguishes the P24 RS Mechanically and Dynamically from Its Rivals?<\/p>\n

At the heart of the P24 RS lies a 3.5-litre twin-turbocharged V6, derived from the Ford GT and tuned in collaboration with a Dutch Formula 1 supplier. This engine represents a decisive break from the Audi five-cylinder units of earlier Donkervoorts, both in layout and in character. The longitudinal mounting not only enables the production of right-hand-drive variants but also reconfigures the car\u2019s weight distribution and steering geometry. The headline figure\u2014592bhp\u2014places the P24 RS in a performance stratum that few analogues can claim to inhabit, at least on paper.<\/p>\n

Yet the practical significance of such output is ambiguous. With a five-speed manual gearbox and a Torsen limited-slip differential, the P24 RS eschews the electronic mediation that now typifies high-performance vehicles. There is traction control, but no stability control; anti-lock brakes and power steering are optional rather than standard. This selective adoption of technology is not simply nostalgia. Rather, it reflects a philosophical commitment to driver involvement, albeit one that may expose the car\u2019s limits more readily than its electronically cosseted rivals.<\/p>\n

The adaptive suspension system, with its hydraulic ride-height adjustment and six-stage dampers, further complicates the car\u2019s dynamic profile. While the system theoretically obviates the need for anti-roll bars, real-world testing reveals a tension between ride comfort and body control. On smoother roads, the P24 RS exhibits a supple, almost Lotus-like flow. But under more demanding conditions\u2014sharp inputs, rapid transitions\u2014the suspension can become unsettled, transmitting shocks and betraying a certain lack of final polish. Whether this is a function of setup, inherent design trade-offs, or simply the limitations of a low-volume manufacturer remains an open question.<\/p>\n

Who Stands to Benefit\u2014or Be Disappointed\u2014by Donkervoort\u2019s UK Foray?<\/p>\n

The P24 RS is not a car for the average enthusiast. Its price\u2014over \u00a3300,000\u2014places it well beyond the reach of those who might otherwise be drawn to the Caterham or Ariel Atom. Instead, its appeal is likely to be most acute among collectors and connoisseurs who value rarity, mechanical purity, and the cachet of continental provenance.<\/p>\n

Yet the car\u2019s idiosyncrasies\u2014its demanding gearbox, its occasionally recalcitrant suspension, its unapologetically raw cabin\u2014may alienate those who expect the seamless integration and ergonomic refinement of more mainstream supercars. The absence of air conditioning in the test car, for example, is a minor but telling detail: a reminder that Donkervoort\u2019s priorities are not always aligned with conventional notions of comfort or convenience.<\/p>\n

There is also a structural limitation inherent in the company\u2019s approach. With only a single UK dealer and a production run likely to be measured in dozens rather than hundreds, aftersales support and parts availability may prove challenging. For a clientele accustomed to the robust dealer networks of larger brands, this could be a significant deterrent.<\/p>\n

Why Does Donkervoort\u2019s Entry Matter Beyond the Niche?<\/p>\n

The arrival of the P24 RS in the UK is more than a footnote in the annals of boutique sports car manufacturing. It exposes the latent conservatism of the British lightweight sector, which, for all its vaunted innovation, has often been slow to embrace new materials, new forms, and new markets. Donkervoort\u2019s willingness to experiment\u2014with size, with power, with technology\u2014poses an implicit challenge to the status quo.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the P24 RS highlights the paradoxes of modern performance car design. The pursuit of lightness, once an end in itself, now coexists uneasily with demands for comfort, usability, and ever-escalating power outputs. Donkervoort\u2019s solution\u2014a car that is both larger and lighter, both more powerful and more analogue\u2014may not resolve these tensions, but it dramatizes them in a way that is both instructive and provocative.<\/p>\n

For the informed reader, the lesson is clear: the future of the lightweight sports car will not be shaped by tradition alone. It will depend on the willingness of manufacturers\u2014large and small\u2014to interrogate their own assumptions, to listen to their customers, and to adapt with agility. The P24 RS, for all its imperfections, is a vivid case study in what such adaptation can look like.<\/p>\n

What Should Prospective Buyers and Industry Observers Conclude?<\/p>\n

For those contemplating a purchase, the P24 RS demands both discernment and patience. Its dynamic quirks are not insurmountable, but they do require a degree of mechanical sympathy and a tolerance for imperfection. The company\u2019s track record suggests that iterative improvement is likely, especially as feedback from British customers accumulates.<\/p>\n

Industry observers, meanwhile, should resist the temptation to dismiss Donkervoort\u2019s UK ambitions as quixotic. The company\u2019s agility, its openness to customer input, and its technical ambition position it as a credible\u2014if unconventional\u2014player in a segment that has too often mistaken parochialism for excellence.<\/p>\n

In sum, the Donkervoort P24 RS is not merely a new entrant; it is a provocation. It asks uncomfortable questions of both its competitors and its customers. Whether the British market is ready to answer remains, for now, an open and intriguing question.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"Donkervoort<\/a><\/p>\n

Donkervoort has fascinated enthusiasts with its Lotus Seven spin-offs \u2013 now it\u2019s building RHD cars for UK sale<\/p>\n

\n

If you\u2019ve heard the 16th-century English-language idiom of \u2018carrying coal to Newcastle\u2019, apparently still used to describe any kind of pointless and fruitless act, you\u2019re one up on me.<\/p>\n

The enticingly low, superbly outlandish-looking new Donkervoort P24 RS<\/strong> happens to have a 298-litre boot in which you could carry a few bags of the black stuff. It\u2019s a bigger boot, actually, than you would imagine finding in a car of this kind \u2013 which speaks to the car\u2019s particular priorities rather eloquently. And sure, you could easily drive one from its native Netherlands to the north-east of England, even if I won\u2019t be quite that ambitious today.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Just as Newcastle has (or rather had) coal mines, you see, Britain has (or rather\u2026 actually, let\u2019s not go there) makers of lightweight sports cars. It\u2019s thanks to one of them, Lotus<\/a>, that Donkervoort exists at all, because company founder Joop Donkervoort wanted to import and sell Lotus Seven<\/a> kit cars in the 1970s but ended up having to make so many modifications to them in order to make them legal for use on Dutch roads that it was more sensible to sell them under his own brand name (which he did with the permission of Hethel).<\/p>\n

Now Donkervoort\u2019s global expansion has brought it full circle, sort of. Half a century after Joop set up shop, it will build and deliver its first right-hand-drive car to a UK customer in early 2027. However, its people are clearly concerned that we will judge its entry into the British market \u2013 Lightweight Sports Car Central, as the world still sees it \u2013 somewhat harshly. Parochially, even. Which explains the coal-carrying reference in their otherwise suitably triumphant press release.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

At any rate, supercar dealer Premier GT, of Washington, West Sussex, has been appointed Donkervoort\u2019s sole UK retail outlet. And today I\u2019m getting an advance taste of what ownership of one of these unusual, high-end, lightweight sports cars over here might actually be like.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One of Donkervoort\u2019s display cars from the Goodwood Festival of Speed has been lent to me for the day; to depart in from the South Downs, howl north and west in along a mix of trunk roads, and end up on some well-known A- and B-roads on Salisbury Plain.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a German-registered left-hooker, as you might have noticed, but let\u2019s call that an inconvenient detail. This will be our first drive full stop in a car that is now an awfully long way from a Lotus Seven, and which British enthusiasts will soon have a much better chance of getting to know first hand.<\/p>\n

The P24 RS is about 20% longer than a Lotus or Caterham Seven<\/a> and a good foot wider. It\u2019s the inheritor of a line of cars that was actually pretty quick to grow beyond the footprint of the\u00a0original Seven: first with the S8 of 1983, then again with the D8 of 1993, then again with the D8 GT of 2007 and so on. We can probably thank the celebrated physical height of the Dutch for that. If you\u2019ve ever felt a size too big and tall for a Seven-style car (insufficiently Chapman-esque in stature, if you prefer), you might be particularly grateful for that, as I am.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Then again, the P24 RS isn\u2019t actually any bigger than the F22<\/a> of 2022 \u2013 Donkervoort\u2019s last really big technical development. The company has long sought to adopt lightweight materials in order to offset the influence of any additional mass that its slightly inflated Seven-style cars might otherwise bring. With the F22, however, this philosophy hit another gear, with its own \u2018Ex-Core\u2019 carbonfibre parts comprising big sections of a chassis \u2018hybrid\u2019 made of alloy spaceframe tube and stressed carbonfibre sandwich mouldings. That chassis delivered double the torsional rigidity of a D8-generation Donkervoort<\/a> and yet still brought the car in at a dry weight of 750kg.<\/p>\n

The P24 RS, introduced earlier this year, adds to that total a little bit, but with a distinguishing justification. The previous car\u2019s blown five-cylinder Audi engine has been dispensed with, and in its place comes a special version of the 3.5-litre V6 that powered the latest Ford GT<\/a>, using parallel-twin, ball-bearing turbochargers from Dutch Formula 1 supplier Van der Lee.<\/p>\n

Overall output has taken a big hike over where it was with the F22 – from 493bhp to 592bhp – and, unlike the Audi lump, the Ford one mounts entirely symmetrically \u2018north-south\u2019 within the long, insectile snout of the car. It\u2019s that last fact that opened up the necessary space to move the car\u2019s steering system across the frontal package, which means Donkervoort can offer it in either left – or right-hand-drive.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, some parts of the P24 RS are innovative and technically interesting, others deliberately not so much. Because Donkervoort likes to keep some things analogue and traditional, it uses a Tremec TKX five-speed manual gearbox; and it passes up electronically controlled active torque-vectoring across its driven rear axle in favour of a Torsen mechanical torque-biasing differential. With nearly 600bhp at its disposal, Donkervoort recognises the need for electronic traction control here – but there\u2019s no electronic stability control. Anti-lock brakes and electromechanical power steering are options; this test car has the latter but not the former.<\/p>\n

The P24 RS does use a semi-active suspension system, however, with 35mm of hydraulic ride-height adjustment. Its six-stage adaptive dampers have sufficient roll-cancelling functionality to negate the need for conventional anti-roll bars. That sounds interesting.<\/p>\n

I depart the village of Charlton, just north of Goodwood Racecourse, with the heat of a sweltering July day building. I\u2019m unexpectedly comfortable, albeit rather warm.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One of the systems left off this Donkervoort demonstrator for the sake of weight-saving, the man from Donkervoort tells me as I turn the key in the ignition barrel, was air conditioning. Oh good. With the targa roof stowed and lots of glossy carbonfibre around the cabin to reflect the heat, it feels a little bit like I\u2019m a chicken breast in an air fryer when I come to a stop at traffic lights. The heat from the engine compartment slowly floods over my feet, there\u2019s suddenly no passing air to cool me down. I expect I\u2019ll need about fifteen minutes of this, at what feels something like Gas Mark Four,\u00a0to be ready to eat.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Buying advice item number one would seem to be \u2018have the air conditioning\u2019, then. But it\u2019s an impressive cabin. There\u2019s plenty of room at the wheel, even for all 6ft 3in and rather too many stones of yours truly. The seat runners afford plenty of adjustment and loads of leg room. The steering wheel is removable to help you on your way past the dihedral-style doors and into the seat. The bucket seat itself is surprisingly wide and comfortable and can be set lower, even, than it was in this test car, for those who like a bit more shelter from the wind. Elsewhere, the shape of the interior door panels makes outboard elbow room just a little bit tight, although that really is the only way in which the driving position in this four-metre-long sports car feels at all squeezed in.<\/p>\n

On the move, you get an intriguing mix of signals from the P24 RS. Twiddle the small, knurled metallic damping control knob down to zero and the suspension slackens off fully. Then push the top of the same knob and the hydraulic struts raise the ride height up to \u2018High\u2019, which Donkervoort advises you use for road driving.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Thus set, the car is unexpectedly easy work to drive. The steering is remarkably light and manageable (provided you have that optional electromechanical power assistance). The ride is flat but quite buoyant and not at all tetchy or firm \u2013 until bigger, sharper inputs test the limits of the travel, at least. At normal speeds, there\u2019s an appealing, albeit not entirely abiding, Lotus-like flow about the way the car travels along, and enough body movement that you can easily judge how hard the tyres are working and what the road surface is doing. It\u2019s nicely charismatic in that front-engined, rear-driven, classic-roadster vein.<\/p>\n

The powertrain, however, is a different case entirely. The manual gearbox is needy: the shift\u00a0 action is heavy, short-throw, notchy and mechanical-feeling, the clutch pedal is long and medium-heavy and the whole thing is sensitive to good shift timing, rev-matching and general mechanical sympathy. Honestly, it\u2019s deliciously anachronistic for 2026 \u2013 and quite wonderful for it.<\/p>\n

The ratios feel hilariously long. First is very much for driving, not manoeuvring. Second will take you well beyond town speeds. And you won\u2019t need fourth until you\u2019re cruising on a motorway. Beyond that, the ratios are set so that the engine hits 6000rpm in fifth at its claimed top speed: 186mph (whereas most modern, two-pedal automatic sports cars run out of revs in fifth somewhere between 135- and 150mph).\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

That all takes a little bit of mental processing. There\u2019s loads of torque and a boosty sort of delivery in the feistier driving modes, so you just pick a ratio, stick with it, hold on tight and let the engine slug it out. The last manual sports car I drove with ratios that felt this long but which still felt anything like as fast might have been a Corvette Z06<\/a>; before that, probably a TVR Tuscan<\/a>. They don\u2019t come along often.<\/p>\n

A drivetrain like that ought to make the P24 RS\u2019s engine the headline act in its driving experience, of course. Is the V6 quite that good? I\u2019m not sure. It\u2019s potent, without doubt, and not backwards coming forwards – but it doesn\u2019t quite have the bristling, histrionic intent you expect in a car as mad as this. It can sound a bit flat at times, as V6s tend to. Otherwise, well, it\u2019s just not the fast-revving straight six or gargling muscle-car V8 that I can\u2019t help thinking this car deserves.<\/p>\n

Later in the day, on those testing Salisbury Plain roads we know well and where we can push the P24 RS at least a little bit closer to its dynamic limits, one or two other \u2018works in progress\u2019 emerge. In High ride mode, at least, that light steering I mentioned earlier can make the car a bit of an act of faith to commit to a corner \u2013 although it does get a little easier and more intuitive as you wind up the adaptive dampers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Having done that, though, the formerly fluent ride becomes a little unyielding, the dampers struggling to deal with bigger, sharper intrusions without sending shocks and clatters through the suspension top mounts; and tending to \u2018freeze\u2019 when loaded up with cornering forces and then asked to deal with vertical inputs simultaneously.<\/p>\n

With niche sports cars like this,\u00a0customers are willing to overlook the odd dynamic quirk and wrinkle. They don\u2019t expect immaculately reproduced, homologated perfection, and the P24 RS will give them an over-abundance of character and rawness.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Bottom line:\u00a0if it were my \u00a3302,400, I would want dynamic limitations plain enough to become apparent over a few hours at the wheel to be addressed, I think. But I would also give Donkervoort enough credit to imagine them well capable of ironing out those wrinkles. There\u2019s certainly still time for that sort of thing: and small, agile companies like Donkervoort tend to listen to their customers, and can refine and improve their products quickly.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Clearly Donkervoort still has a little fine-tuning to finish in order to best adapt its cars to British roads, and meet the requirements of British customers, then. As of right now, however, conversations can properly be had; and what an utterly singular\u00a0product there is to kick them off.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Really, the Donkervoort P24 RS is like absolutely no other sports\u00a0you might buy – in right-hand-drive, left-hand-drive, or anything else. We look forward to checking back in with it\u00a0some time in 2027, with a view from the correct side of the bonnet, to discover exactly where the anglicisation of this wonderfully exotic sports car has taken it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Donkervoort P24 RS<\/h2>\n

Verdict:<\/strong> Wild-looking,\u00a0and very fast;\u00a0and surprisingly usable; but also really analogue,\u00a0involving and evocative, with quite a traditional\u00a0old ‘classic roadster’ soul.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Specification<\/th>\nValue<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Model<\/td>\nDonkervoort P24 RS<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Price<\/td>\n\u00a3302,400<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Engine<\/td>\nV6, 3496cc, twin-turbocharged, petrol<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Power<\/td>\n592bhp at 5500rpm<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Torque<\/td>\n590lb ft at 4500rpm<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Gearbox<\/td>\n5-spd manual; RWD via Torsen LSD<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kerb weight<\/td>\n840kg<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
0-62mph<\/td>\ntbc<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Top speed<\/td>\n186mph ‘plus’<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Economy<\/td>\n28.4mpg<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
CO2, tax band<\/td>\nna<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rivals<\/td>\nAriel Atom 4RR<\/a>, Noble M500<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":76421,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,137],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76420","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-featured","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalvillagespace.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76420","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalvillagespace.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalvillagespace.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalvillagespace.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalvillagespace.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76420"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalvillagespace.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76420\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":76422,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalvillagespace.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76420\/revisions\/76422"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalvillagespace.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalvillagespace.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalvillagespace.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalvillagespace.com\/tech\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}