Rarity Spyker: Cars for people who already have every Ferrari

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Cars for people who already have every Ferrari

Rarity Spyker: Cars for people who already have every Ferrari-rarity

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A Spyker is a real rarity. 43 copies of the elegant C8 aluminum flasher were sold last year.

Source: Spyker

Rarity Spyker: Cars for people who already have every Ferrari-people

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The Spyker C8 Aileron, currently the only model, costs an impressive 236,215 euros.

Source: Spyker

Rarity Spyker: Cars for people who already have every Ferrari-people

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The convertible with a soft top in orange looks dignified and elegant. Technically, however, it is reminiscent of the sports cars of the 1970s. ‘Nulla tenaci invia est via’ is written on de…In the frame of the convertible top compartment: ‘No path is impassable for the stubborn’.

Source: Spyker

Rarity Spyker: Cars for people who already have every Ferrari-spyker

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In terms of engine technology, however, the C8 is ultra-modern: Under the hood there is an Audi engine with 405 hp, like the one found in the current Audi R8.

Source: Spyker

Rarity Spyker: Cars for people who already have every Ferrari-spyker

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Inside, pretty much everything in the Spyker is made of orange-dyed leather or aluminum. Plastic is only used when it is absolutely unavoidable.

Source: Spyker

Rarity Spyker: Cars for people who already have every Ferrari-people

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The aluminum for the fittings was provided with a turtle shell pattern.

Source: Spyker

Rarity Spyker: Cars for people who already have every Ferrari-people

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The C8 at the Geneva Motor Show 2009. Experts believe that it is more of a car for the classy garage.

Source: dpa / DPA

Rarity Spyker: Cars for people who already have every Ferrari-people

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Spyker’s company logo is a combination of a spoked wheel and propeller. The original company built combat aircraft until 1918.

Source: Spyker

Rarity Spyker: Cars for people who already have every Ferrari-rarity

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Spyker boss Muller (left) with Saab boss Jonsson at the announcement of their deal.

Source: AFP

Who is Spyker? A Dutch sports car manufacturer. And the buyer of the Swedish car manufacturer Saab. What does Spyker want? Experts have been puzzling over this since the strange deal became known. Because the Dutch have hardly built any cars so far – in 2009 annual sales amounted to 43 copies.

S.Pyker as a sports car brand has been around for ten years, but when it comes to an oath, it doesn’t seem to exist. "I’ve never seen a Spyker unless I was in one myself," says Marcus Peters.

The editor of the magazine “auto, motor und sport” has driven three different Spyker so far, each variant of the single C8 model. The twelve-cylinder C12 Zagato was only built in a limited edition of 24 copies in 2008 – they went for 495,000 euros each plus VAT to selected customers who had to prove that they already owned another Spyker.

This behavior fits in with Peters’ observations – he believes the cars are not driven much. “These are all collectibles. They are in garages, and the owners go there in the evenings to touch the cars or smell them. "

A sin in view of what the cars also have to offer in terms of driving dynamics. Peters appreciates the puristic aspect of the Spyker models. The C8, for example, offers the modern engine technology from the Audi R8, i.e. a V8 with 405 hp housed behind the seats, but the feeling on the road is completely different. “A Spyker can best be compared to a Ferrari from the 1970s.” There are no electronic driving aids such as ESP or traction control, and the steering wheel and pedals are rather stiff compared to other cars.

Perhaps that fits in well with what has become known so far about the plans of Spyker owner Victor Muller with Saab: It can be a bit tough, and not every expert believes that Muller can deal with a large-scale manufacturer – even if the series at Saab were recently rather small: in 2009, sales slumped from 95,000 to 40,000 pieces. But the staggering traditional brand is expected to bring back 100,000 to 120,000 cars a year soon, and Muller has already announced detailed product plans.

The mid-range 9-5, which has been built since 1997, will be relaunched this summer as planned. The car is still a development of the previous Saab owner General Motors and is based on the Opel Insignia. For 2011, Muller announces the Saab 9-4X, a compact off-road vehicle. And in 2012, after ten years of construction, the Saab 9-3 will be released, the brand’s bread-and-butter car. At the same time, Spyker will "examine the potential of launching a fourth, smaller 9-1 series," writes Muller.

However, he still has to collect 24 million euros as a second tranche for the cash prize at General Motors – there is time for that by mid-July. Securing the business plan, which includes investments of around one billion dollars by 2012, could be more difficult. GM is on board with 326 million, 200 million are expected to be available in cash over time, and another 400 million will come from the European Investment Bank.

Muller’s real motives remain unclear – he may see Saab as an opportunity to run a profitable auto company in the medium term. Spyker Cars has so far only made a loss, with 43 cars being sold last year.

Even in the specialist editorial offices of “Sport Auto” and “AutoBild Sportscars” you won’t find anyone who has ever driven a Spyker. And Christoph Kading, salesman at Auto Bach in Bad Homburg, Germany’s only Spyker dealer, doesn’t want to say how many Spyker drivers he knows either. Just this much: "This is a car for people who already have every Ferrari."

The American author of "AutoBild Sportscars" sees it similarly when he writes about the C8 Aileron, which costs 236,215 euros. He is particularly amazed at the interior: “If you enter the cockpit without sunglasses, you could go blind. The entire dashboard is covered with aluminum in a turtle shell pattern. "

That fits with the company’s Latin motto, which can be read in the Spyker logo, a propeller: "Nulla tenaci invia est via" – no path is impassable for the stubborn. Incidentally, the propeller stands for the past: founded in 1898 as a coach builder, in 1900 the company switched to automobiles and produced 100 combat aircraft during the First World War. After 1918 it continued with cars, in 1926 it was over. Victor Muller has nothing to do with the historical core of Spyker, he just bought the naming rights in 1999.

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