Spyker is back and perhaps better than ever with its new C8 Preliator. The convertible version is scheduled to debut at the Geneva Motor Show.
By traditional automotive metrics, the little Dutch company Spyker doesn’t even qualify as a rounding error. In fact, by comparison, Ferrari looks like a mass-market brand.
But that hasn’t stopped Spyker and its founder and CEO Victor Mueller from thinking big. With its latest model, the C8 Preliator sold out, the Dutch company is laying out plans for its next product line – and more to come. It’s also getting ready to switch to a new engine source after long depending upon Audi.
The first new product will make its debut at the Geneva Motor Show next March, a convertible version of its current sports coupe that will be dubbed the Spyker C-8 Preliator Spyder. What’s to follow, well, Mueller would drop only vague hints.
The Spyker name actually dates back more than a century, the original company producing cars and then airplanes from 1880 to 1926.
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“Spyker decided to build cars like aircraft, but with no wings,” said Mueller, a lawyer who made a fortune in shipping and eventually decided to try his hand at making cars. “That was my inspiration.”
Spyker CEO Victor Mueller, left, unveiled the new C8 Preliator at the L.A. Show and hinted that there were bigger things coming.
It has been a bumpy road since Spyker was brought back to life in 1999. The deepest pothole came when Mueller chased a quixotic dream of getting into mass production by buying Saab from General Motors in 2010, just as the Detroit automaker plunged into bankruptcy. The venture soon ran out of cash and Spyker itself nearly collapsed.
After plunging into its own bankruptcy in December 2014, Spyker was able to line up cash, reach agreement with creditors and resume operations by the following July. The C8 debuted in March 2016 at the Geneva Motor Show.
According to Mueller, all 50 were accounted for within a month of that debut, 38 of them ordered by customers in the U.S. The official base price was $350,000, but he claims the average model went for “way north of $400,000,” thanks to various custom features.
That’s a major part of the business, Mueller said with a laugh. “Being a boutique carmaker, you never say ‘No’ to a customer unless it involves breaking the law – and even then, that is something we would consider.”
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All told, since 1999, Spyker has produced a grand total of 267 cars, the executive told TheDetroitBureau.com following its L.A. news conference. And while it doesn’t have plans to challenge the likes of Ferrari, or even the slightly smaller Aston Martin, Mueller clearly hopes to build sales up a bit.
The Preliator Spyder could help, as Spyker has historically seen much stronger demand for its convertibles than its coupes.
The company is already working on plans for what comes next, though Mueller isn’t ready to discuss what’s in store. The only detail he is hinting at is that Spyker will soon find an alternate source for powertrains. Until now, it has been using the same, 524 horsepower V-8 found in the Audi R8. The new engine will bump that up to 610 hp.
“We’ve been able to secure an engine deal with the sexiest manufacturer in the world,” Mueller boasted.
Asked whether Spyker might also consider doing an electric sports car, something planned by rivals including Porsche and Audi, the Dutch entrepreneur said he would – maybe “in 10 to 15 years.”
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“As long as you’re slogging around 1,300 pounds of batteries, it’s just hard to get anyone really excited,” Mueller asserted. “We’ll wait until we can produce something that offers a really exciting driving experience.”