C8 Preliator

Make
Spyker
Segment
Coupe

We have some fantastic news on the final day of 2021: Spyker is making a comeback.

The Dutch supercar manufacturer, first founded in 1999, is finally returning to the automotive world after finding an investor group. At the beginning of this year, it faced yet another big setback.

We love the brand. Its first product, the C8, was a beautifully designed vehicle powered by a 4.2-liter Audi V8. Most of all, we loved the four-spoke steering wheel and the exposed gear linkage. The latter made a profoundly satisfying clickety-clack sound, right up there with a gated manual Lamborghini Murcielago. Oh, and the name is also quite amusing. It's an homage to two blacksmiths who started building cars in 1880. Their names were Jacobus and Henrik-Jan Spijker, pronounced Spyker in English. It's also Dutch slang for sex.

The new investor group is led by Michael Pessis (co-owner of SMP Racing Monaco and Milan Morady SA in Luxembourg and R-Company GmbH in Germany) and Boris Rotenberg of BR Engineering and SMP Racing. There are other investors, but they have not been named. A new company called Spyker Ltd. will be established, and Victor R. Muller will head it.

Spyker will stick to what it did before. The cars will be handbuilt, and Spyker intends to produce three models; the Spyker C8 Preliator, the Spyker D8 Peking-to-Paris SSUV, and the Spyker B6 Venator. To be honest, we could do without the SUV, but it will likely be the money maker.

Production will start in 2022.

So far, only 265 Spykers have been produced, and the new company will continue to support these customers. Spyker intends to work hard on its after-sales and service departments and open several new locations.

With the new connection to SMP Racing, the door is also wide open for Spyker to go racing again. It also means the current F1 champion can finally own a car from his home country.

"We really look forward to becoming a part of this new chapter of the epic Spyker brand. Our group of companies will launch the Spyker brand successfully in the league of the world's best super sports cars", Boris Rotenberg stated.

While Spyker will remain a Dutch brand, it will be a global car. The carbon body panels will be manufactured in Russia. The engineering will be done in Germany and Russia. The manufacturing will pick up right where it left off in the Netherlands with the former team.

The final assembly in the Netherlands is essential to Spyker's legacy, while the financials will be dealt with in Luxemburg. Not a bad idea, considering how readily available wacky tobaccy is in the Netherlands. We're not suggesting anything, but Mary Jane's poor accounting may be the reason why Spyker went bust in the first place.

What's going to keep it from going bust this time around? Well, we'll let the new CEO answer that.

"The collaboration agreement is the starting point to rebuild Spyker as a sports car manufacturer with a more solid foundation than ever before, and with ample access to better technical and financial resources than we ever had to achieve our ambitious business objectives. In a world dominated by electrification, there is an undiminished demand for real sports cars, the ones that tantalize all senses. We will continue to cater to that group of enthusiasts in particular. Of course, we will offer hybrid solutions in our future models but the V8 ICE remains at the heart of every Spyker for many years to come," said Muller.