Sports Car With the Name of a Fighter Jet Ends Production with F22 Final Five Edition

1 day, 15 hours ago - 19 November 2024, autoevolution
Sports Car With the Name of a Fighter Jet Ends Production with F22 Final Five Edition
There are not many automotive brands out there that build their own cars using engines sourced from others.

As makeshift as such an approach may seem, it has created over the years pretty impressive vehicles, and that's why it’s always sad when we get to see one of these models, powered by a particular engine that made a name for itself in a certain application, go out the door for good.

There is one car in this world that shares a name with a 5thgeneration fighter jet. They call it the Donkervoort F22, and it was launched into this world in 2022 as a sports car in a limited production run. By all accounts, from the power it develops to the stunning g forces it can survive while cornering at high speeds, it is one impressive beast.

Just like the D8 GTO before it, the F22 uses an Audi-sourced five-cylinder engine turbocharged engine. Packing five cylinders it is capable of achieving impressive performance numbers: 493 horsepower and 640 Nm of torque.

The company making the F22 is as bold as calling the ride the "best five-cylinder car the world has ever seen." And it's also rare, as Donkervoort only plans to make a total of 100 units (up from the initially planned run of 50) – I say "plans” because even if all of the cars have already been spoken for, not all of them have been built yet.

There probably were some Donkervoort fans who felt left out when the production limit was reached, and that's why the Dutch company announced at the end of last week the release of another five units. Unlike the rest of them, though, these ones are special, as they're meant to mark the end of the Audi five-cylinder engine used in this manner.

Donkervoort does not say yet what engine will replace the Audi one in future products, but we're promised we’ll learn more about that soon. It seems like the next project by these guys will be a hypercar that's neither electric, nor in the million-dollar range – for reference, the F22 sold for around $270,000.

The final five F22s will come with special fittings meant to highlight their special place in the world. These fittings come as carbon-ceramic brake discs, a titanium exhaust, and carbon rims. Topping everything off is a relatively new, exposed carbon fiber bodywork.

All these part have been chosen not only as a means to make the cars stand out, but also to make them lighter than their siblings: whereas a normal F22 tips the scales at 750 kg (1,653 pounds), the Final Five will do the same at just 716 kg (1,579 pounds).

As per Donkervoort, the first of five special F22s has already been delivered to one of the company's ambassadors, but we don't know who that is. The rest of them, already spoken for, are in the process of being personalized.

We'll keep an eye out for Donkervoort next project and give you an update as soon as we know more.

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