DUTCH COURAGE

Donkervoort has been riffing on the Lotus Seven theme in the Netherlands since the 1970s but never before has it tried something like the new F22. Richard Lane visits the workshop - then hits the road with 666bhp per tonne 

- Richard Lane

Fancy a challenge? Try to categorise the car I'm about to describe. Simple as that. Trackday star, supercar, super-GT, roadster. Whatever.

You descend into its cockpit to find Sabelt harnesses but also, if specified, heated seats. At just 750kg wet, in theory it belongs firmly in the super-lightweight clique, yet the contact patch is almost to Ferrari 430 Scuderia spec. Then there is the power-to-weight ratio, which is a satanic 666bhp per tonne, though engineers on the project insist the car is capable of rewarding those of a more saintly disposition (or simply unable to take it by the carbon scruff). They also say it's fit for touring, with real ride quality, yet there's little doubt this car would munch anything the sensible side of a McLaren 750S were you to unsheathe one at a track day, as many owners will do. It has racing ABS yet greater luggage capacity than a Porsche 911 GT3. It has no obvious aero to speak of but can apparently pull 2.15g when its semi-slicks are simmering. It is most enjoyable on sunny days but rainstorms are no problem for it.

Lastly, and most confoundingly, although it's at the cutting edge of materials technology, at heart this is a car from 1957, with roots behind a pub in Hornsey, north London. 

It all sounds a bit far-fetched. And, let's face it, ultra-low-volume sports car makers are not exactly known for hard-headed analysis of their own product. Pride leaves them vulnerable to over-promising.