Donkervoort and Conflux have partnered to deliver a cutting-edge thermal breakthrough for the upcoming P24 RS supercar, confirming its collaboration with thermal pioneers Conflux on a new generation of 3D-printed, ultra-lightweight water-charge air coolers.
The second engineering chapter in the P24 RS: Living the Drive series reveals how Donkervoort and Conflux have redefined the air cooler – delivering a system that is lighter, smaller and more efficient than anything previously seen in production cars.
The result: a pair of aluminium-alloy sculptures weighing just 1.4kg each, compared to 16kg for conventional air-to-air units with similar thermal capacity. These custom water-charge air coolers (WCAC) provide sharper throttle response, improved packaging and reduced weight.
“The key to engine performance is keeping the intake air as cold as possible,” said Donkervoort MD Denis Donkervoort. “We challenged ourselves to find the best way to achieve that – and Conflux delivered.
“We moved to a liquid-to-air cooler, made using additive manufacturing, from a company that isn’t just on the cutting edge – they’re ahead of it. We gave Conflux our exact specifications and they delivered a solution so effective, we could even downsize it from the original prototype.”
Thanks to their compact form, the air coolers now sit within the engine bay rather than at the front of the car—reducing the inlet-tract length of the outgoing engine by two-thirds. The result: quicker response, greater efficiency and Donkervoort claims optimised weight distribution.
The Conflux units – designed and built in Australia – join Van der Lee’s billet turbochargers as part of Donkervoort’s high-tech evolution of the PTC engine.
Water is cooled through a bespoke external radiator, then redirected to chill the intake air before it enters the combustion chamber. That precision enables consistent, high-performance delivery – under any conditions.
“Donkervoort approached us with clear cost and performance targets,”Conflux founder Michael Fuller said. “Their clarity and drive made this one of our most exciting collaborations. Within our configurable product line, we could fine-tune everything – from diameter and fin density to overall length – for the most efficient design possible.”
The system also integrates a custom-sized, thin-wall radiator that provides more cooling with less coolant and a smaller surface area than its predecessor.
More from www.donkervoort.com or www.confluxtechnology.com ENDS.