Oct 26 2009
Structural prepregs, and an industry-standard car body system from Advanced Composites Group Ltd (ACG), part of the Composites Division of Umeco plc, are being used by Donkervoort Automobielen to build its new D8 GT competition race car for the 5th Edition Dunlop 24H of Dubai, scheduled for mid-January 2010.
The ‘Donkervoort’ is widely regarded as the ultimate package for the real car enthusiast. It is for the aficionado who wants no compromise in driving pleasure. Donkervoort cars are ultra-light, incredibly powerful and offer the road-holding characteristics of a racing car. Donkervoort believes that it has created the car that will make the hearts of many car lovers skip a beat. Today's Donkervoort has, without doubt, moved on from the very first models. A programme of continuous development has brought deserved rewards, including improved quality, and modern and attractive styling, which has led to the current D8-series, regarded as the ultimate in sports cars, created for the real car enthusiast.
31 years have passed since Joop Donkervoort first decided to build his own sports cars, and his passion for perfection in all aspects of the car has found expression in the D8 GT. The first cars with a 650Kg all carbon chassis and body, making them the world’s lightest GT race cars, were finished just days before their debut in the 2007 FIA GT4 Sport Light Series in Spa Francorchamps. The Donkervoort Team reaped the rewards for their unyielding effort, taking 1st and 3rd places in its first ever racing kilometres!
Today, ACG’s VTM®260 (Variable Temperature Moulding) Series, vacuum-only curing prepreg, and BPS240 Car Body Panel System are used extensively across the new 2010 race car. Continuous development of the chassis and bodywork finds ever more extensive application of ACG’s materials. Body parts, including the roof, mudguards and underbody panel, together with structural elements, including the rear chassis and the combined scuttle and windscreen framework, are all benefiting from a combination of improved stiffness and weight reduction. The high surface quality of the prepreg moulded components minimises surface reworking and, in many cases, the parts do not require painting, further reducing the overall weight of the car. For exterior panels on both the race car and the road version of the D8, ACG’s BPS240 Body Panel System is proving so effective that it is basically paint-ready straight from the mould.
The production process has also being streamlined as the company migrates away from the original pressed metal pannelling and wet lay-up of polyester and glass to the manufacrure of the cleaner, safer and cost-effective processing route obtainable through the application of ACG prepreg
ACG’s technical personnel have assisted Donkervoort throughout, with onsite support and manufacturing advice flowing from its manufacturing division, Advanced Composite Engineering (ACE), and the Group’s Technology Centre. In particular, the combined scuttle and windframework, which is manufactured in a single process using just vacuum for consolidation, wassubject of some discussion in the early days. Personnel from ACG’s R&D and Applied Technologies departments provided guidance on the tooling and manufacture of this comples chape using a variety of carvon, glass and Kelvar in both unidirectional and fabric formats. The result was a structure which passed strict FIA testing with flying colours.