CarBrandLogos archive · Spyker · 2000

SpykerC8

A Dutch marque revived with aircraft imagery, exposed linkages and an Audi V8.

Photo: Mr.choppers · CC BY-SA 3.0

The story

A defining chapter in Spyker history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Spyker C8, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

Spyker built cars and aeroplanes in the Netherlands before and during the First World War, then disappeared in 1926. Victor Muller and Maarten de Bruijn bought the name in the late 1990s and restarted it, with the aviation history as the entire design brief rather than a marketing footnote.

Bangkok-Siam Paragon Mall · Maciej (Mat) Radoszewski from Port Coquitlam, Canada · CC BY 2.0

Design and engineering

The C8, from 2000, is an aluminium-bodied mid-engined two-seater built in small numbers at Zeewolde, using a 4.0-litre V8 in the early competition-derived cars and later Audi's 4.2-litre V8, with a Getrag six-speed manual. What people remember is the detailing: a propeller motif in the wheels, a dashboard of turned aluminium, rows of toggle switches, quilted leather, and a gear linkage left exposed so the mechanism could be watched working. It is a car built by people who thought the inside of a machine was the interesting part.

Spyker C8 Heck · Thomas doerfer · CC BY-SA 3.0

In production

Spyker raced at Le Mans in the GT classes through the 2000s, which for a company of that size was a serious commitment, and continued the C8 through the Laviolette, Aileron and Preliator versions. Muller then used the company as a vehicle for a much larger ambition, buying Saab from General Motors in 2010, which ended badly for both. The C8 remains a genuine curiosity: a supercar whose appeal is craftsmanship and theatre rather than lap times.

Spyker C8 Interieur · Thomas doerfer · CC BY-SA 3.0

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Produced

2000–present

Engine

4.0&nbsp

Designer

Maarten de Bruijn

Body

2-door convertible

Technical specification

The C8, in detail.

Production: 2000–present
Class: Sports car (S)
Body style: 2-door convertible (Spyder, Aileron Spyder, Preliator Spyder); 2-door coupé (Laviolette, Double 12S, Aileron, Preliator)
Layout: RMR layout
Engine: 4.0 L Mader-BMW V8 (Double 12S and 12R); 4.2L Audi V8 (Twin Turbo or Supercharged in Later versions)
Transmission: Getrag 6-speed manual; ZF 6-speed automatic
Designer: Maarten de Bruijn; Simon Koop (C8 Aileron, C8 Preliator)
Assembly: Zeewolde, Netherlands
Manufacturer: Spyker Cars