Photos: Donkervoort Automobielen
Designed as a mashup between a Formula One racer and a luxury touring vehicle (think of it as a lady in the seats and a freak in the streets), the D8 GTO released by Dutch automaker Donkervoort Automobielen this past December, was made possible, in large part, to CAD simulation and Computational Fluid Dynamics.
Donkervoort (sounds like a Harry Potter bad guy), has been developing hand-built, lightweight and high performance sports cars since 1978. And since they only make about 50 cars each year—all by hand—cutting down on the need to build prototypes to refine the design saves a lot of time. And headaches.
The engineers at Donkervoort turned to SolidWorks CAD simulation to virtually see how the D8 GTO would react to the road before making a single prototype. According to Dr. Stephen Endersby, Product Manager and Simulation Expert at SolidWorks:
“The aerodynamic and chassis design of a high performance car is everything. You can have the most powerful engine in the world, but if you cannot put the power on the road and control the car while you turn you might as well not bother. All good cars have traction. Have you ever heard the phase ‘she corners like she’s on rails’? This means the engine power, chassis stiffness and aerodynamics are all working together so the driver drives the car where he wants it to go rather than under or over-steering, with potentially dangerous consequences.”
To achieve that balance, you need a chassis that is “light as a feather and stiff as a diamond.” Donkervoort uses a hybrid carbon fiber-tubular steel chassis to meet that goal.
The D8 GTO hybrid chassis
Then they drop an Audi 2.5-liter turbo five-cylander engine into it that makes 400 horsepower, up from the 1.8-liter/270-hp engine they used in the last model. So the engine power for the equation is more than covered. All that’s left is the aerodynamics.
Enter CAD and CFD
But rather than build prototype after prototype to deal with the challenges of the weight gain from the larger engine and the air flow disruption over the open wheels, they used SolidWorks’ Flow Simulation to tweak the design and test if adding wings to the rear fenders and undertray would increase downforce. (It did.)
They also needed to address the problem of the need for structural strengthening due to the boost in horsepower—a snowball effect that adds weight. Again, using the simulation software, the engineers conducted nonlinear force, stiffness, crash, and impact tests on the innovative steel/composite chassis. They were also able to reduce engine weight by reconfiguring the “Front End Auxiliary Drive,” intake manifold, and clutch/flywheel assembly.
After all those improvements were made and tested in the computer simulations, Donkervoort was able to build the finished D8 GTO, and run it on a real test track, instead of the virtual one they’d been using for months. The result? Zero to 60 in 3.0 seconds, and the ability to hold the track like the tires were made of glue. In a fraction of the time, and for a fraction of the cost.
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Here’s a look The Discovery Channel took at the Donkervoort factory recently
Tags: Car Trends and Innovations, Cars, Exotic Cars, Sports Cars, Unusual Cars
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