Spyker claims to be back in business again, after years of legal issues and false starts.
Backing has come from a “fintech ecosystem” that aims to “integrate a sports car with blockchain products”, which might well ring some alarm bells, but solid evidence emerged in the forms of the “entirely new” C8 Preliator XXV Coupé at Pebble Beach and a parade of 22 old C8 Spyders at the Dutch Grand Prix.
It’s now over a decade since the quirky Dutch brand last delivered a new car to a customer, yet less than 30 years since it announced itself at Goodwood with a droopy prototype. Our first experience of a C8 came in 2004: “The cabin is more Spirit of St Louis than supercar.
The first impression is that it’s over the top, but it’s also beautifully detailed without any elements borrowed from mainstream parts bins. “The flexible Audi V8 accelerates cleanly from 1500rpm in sixth with a distinctly American soundtrack, and the [manual] gearbox is slick and smooth.
“The C8 delivers a fresh experience, borrowing nothing from Ferrari or Lamborghini. But for all its character there is still a lot of development needed. If Spyker can make the steering more communicative, boost front-end grip, reduce high-speed lift and improve the gear ratios, then it will have created a very special car.”
This wasn’t our first experience of a Spyker, however, because this brand actually dates back to the very earliest days of motoring. At London’s 1903 motor show, we marvelled at the 20hp tourer’s “sarcophagus-shaped bonnet which has no retaining screws or clips but jams down tightly and securely into a grip joint taking it all round” and “gear-striking arrangement that is particularly foolproof, inasmuch as the gear cannot be changed from one speed to another until the clutch has been taken out.
“Indeed, we think we may say that the details of the Spyker car have been very closely considered.” Later that year, the Dutch amazed us again by producing what we then called a “double-driving six-cylinder car” and now see as the first 4x4.
In September 1907, a Spyker completed the Peking to Paris, an insanely gruelling 9300-mile rally – although it took a fortnight longer than the winner, and driver Charles Godard was “disembarked from the car by Mr Spyker on reaching Germany”, because he’d lied about his financial backing to secure use of the car, then sold spare parts and lied to shipping firms and banks to secure loans for his onward travel!
