Spyker Cars (, ) is a Dutch
sports car
A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...
marque. The modern Spyker Cars held the legal rights to the
brand
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...
name.
The company's motto is "''Nulla tenaci invia est via''",
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
for "For the tenacious, no road is impassable".
The marque's logo displays an aircraft
propeller
A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...
superimposed over a spoked wheel, a reference to the historic
Spyker company that manufactured automobiles and aircraft. In an attempt to save Spyker from bankruptcy, Swedish Automobile in September 2011, announced the immediate sale of Spyker to
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
private equity
In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a ty ...
and
hedge fund
A hedge fund is a pooled investment fund that trades in relatively liquid assets and is able to make extensive use of more complex trading, portfolio-construction, and risk management techniques in an attempt to improve performance, such as sho ...
North Street Capital
North Street Capital, LP is a privately owned private equity and hedge fund firm based in Greenwich, Connecticut. The firm is run by Alex Mascioli, who founded the firm and is named after a street in town. The firm invests in leveraged buyouts ...
for
€
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...
32 million (
US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
41 million). On December 18, 2014, Spyker confirmed that it had gone bankrupt, hoping to restructure its finances and getting back on its feet. The bankruptcy declaration was reverted early 2015 and the company announced to continue with the production of sports cars.
In 2021 it went bankrupt again. In January 2022 Spyker announced a return to building cars after being backed by Russian investors.
History
![Spyker Silvestris V8 - Flickr - edvvc (1)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/Spyker_Silvestris_V8_-_Flickr_-_edvvc_%281%29.jpg)
The reborn company was founded by
Victor Muller and
Maarten de Bruijn
Maarten de Bruijn (born 1965) is a Dutch engineer.
Born in Naarden, he graduated in 1996 at University of Amsterdam with master's degree in City Planning. 1990-1996 he single-handed designed, constructed and made functional prototype Spyker Silv ...
in 1999, and since 2000, Spyker has been building exclusive sports cars like the
C8 Spyder and the C8 Laviolette (with its elegant glass roof).
Spyker's history of producing aero engines is reflected in details in these new cars as well as in the logo.
Before building the C8, de Bruijn had been building small numbers of the
Spyker Silvestris, which in many ways foreshadows Spyker's later cars.
The C8 Laviolette and C8 Spyder have a 4172 cc Audi V8 engine delivering , acceleration 0–60 mph in 4.5 seconds and a top speed of . On July 14, 2005, it was announced that the C8 was approved for sale on the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
market.
![Broughtonsspyker](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Broughtonsspyker.jpg)
Between 2002 and 2006, Spyker built the C8 Double 12 S, which was available from the factory with 5 different levels of performance called Stage I (400 h.p.) through Stage V (620 h.p.), depending on the customer's need for performance.
Between 2003 and 2007, Spyker built the C8 Spyder T, with the
Twin turbo system being developed in conjunction with
Cosworth
Cosworth is a British automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in high-performance internal combustion engines, powertrain, and electronics for automobile racing (motorsport) and mainstream automotive industrie ...
in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. These engines were capable of 525 h.p. and 0–60 mph acceleration times of 4.0 seconds.
In 2005, the head
designer and founder,
Maarten de Bruijn
Maarten de Bruijn (born 1965) is a Dutch engineer.
Born in Naarden, he graduated in 1996 at University of Amsterdam with master's degree in City Planning. 1990-1996 he single-handed designed, constructed and made functional prototype Spyker Silv ...
, left the company, and founded
Silvestris Aquamotive Silvestris may refer to:
* Bernard Silvestris, a Medieval Platonist philosopher and poet of the 12th century
Species
* ''Felis silvestris'', the European wildcat, a mammal species
* ''Malthonica silvestris'', a spider species mostly found in caves ...
which builds
aluminum
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has ...
space frame
In architecture and structural engineering, a space frame or space structure ( 3D truss) is a rigid, lightweight, truss-like structure constructed from interlocking struts in a geometric pattern. Space frames can be used to span large areas with ...
speed boats.
In 2006, Spyker built the
C12 La Turbie with an V12 engine capable of 500 horsepower and acceleration from 0–60 mph in less than 4 seconds.
In September 2006, Spyker bought out the
Midland F1 team. The team competed in the final 3 races of the
2006 season as Spyker MF1. In the
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
, the team competed as
Spyker F1 using engines supplied by
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
. Driver
Adrian Sutil
Adrian Sutil (; born 11 January 1983) is a German-Uruguayan racing driver who raced in Formula One for seven seasons: from 2007–2011, then 2013–2014. He drove for the Spyker F1 Team, Force India F1 Team and the Sauber F1 Team. He was also t ...
was paired with
Christijan Albers
Christijan Albers () (born 16 April 1979) is a Dutch former professional racing driver. After success in the DTM he drove in Formula One from until the 2007 British Grand Prix, shortly after which he was dropped by the Spyker F1 team.
In 200 ...
until the
European Grand Prix
The European Grand Prix (also known as the Grand Prix of Europe) was a Formula One event that was introduced during the mid-1980s and was held every year from to , except in . During these years, the European Grand Prix was held in a countr ...
where the latter was replaced by reserve driver
Markus Winkelhock
Markus Winkelhock (born 13 June 1980) is a German professional racing driver. He is the son of Manfred Winkelhock and nephew of Joachim Winkelhock, both of whom were Formula One drivers in the 1980s. During his brief Formula One career he led the ...
; the team then signed
Sakon Yamamoto to fill in the slot for the rest of the year. The team itself had minimal success, suffering from multiple retirements (including double retirements in
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
) before Sutil scored the team's first and only point in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. At the end of the season, the team was sold to a consortium named "Orange India" led by
Vijay Mallya
Vijay Vittal Mallya (born 18 December 1955) is an Indian businessman, former politician and fugitive. He is the subject of an extradition effort by the Indian Government to return him from the UK to face charges of financial crimes in India.
T ...
and was subsequently renamed as
Force India
Force India Formula One Team Limited, commonly known as Force India and later Sahara Force India, was a Formula One racing team and constructor based in Silverstone, United Kingdom, with an Indian licence. The team was formed in October 20 ...
.
On May 27, 2004, Spyker Cars listed on the
Euronext Amsterdam
Euronext Amsterdam is a stock exchange based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Formerly known as the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, it merged on 22 September 2000 with the Brussels Stock Exchange and the Paris Stock Exchange to form Euronext. The reg ...
Stock Exchange at €15.50, falling to a low of €8.28 in April 2005.
The stock rebounded sharply in early 2006 to over €22 per share. Early in 2007 the stock showed a sharp decline to levels beneath €13 because of financing issues.
As a result, several stock issues were announced to big investors. Notably, all shares have been sold at higher prices than the market price at the moment of announcement. On November 13, 2005, Spyker Cars and
Mubadala Development Company
Mubadala Investment Company PJSC ( ar, شركة مبادلة للاستثمار), or simply Mubadala, is an Emirati state-owned holding company that acts as a sovereign wealth fund. The company was established in 2017 when then-named Mubadala Dev ...
, a principal investment company wholly owned by the government of the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
, announced their strategic alliance, with Mubadala acquiring 17% of Spyker. Mubadala has a strong relationship with sports cars, also controlling 5% of
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
.
In 2007, Spyker, in collaboration with the Italian car-design firm
Zagato
Zagato is an independent coachbuilding company and total design centre located northwest of Milan in Terrazzano, a small village near Rho, Lombardy, Italy. The company's premises occupies an area of 23,000 square metres (250,000 sq ft)- 11,000 of ...
, produced the
C12 Zagato, based on the C12 La Turbie, but with more appealing body work, faster speeds, and the Zagato trademark roof bubbles. This is perhaps the more exclusive Spyker car to date.
In November 2009, Spyker announced that it would be moving production from
Zeewolde
Zeewolde () is a municipality and a town in the Flevoland province in the central Netherlands. It has a population of approximately 22,000 (2017). It is situated in the polder of Flevoland with the small lake called the Wolderwijd to the east. To ...
to
Whitley, Coventry, where assembly would be done in partnership with
CPP Manufacturing. UK production began in February 2010. Due to the bankruptcy of SAAB and a falling out with business partners, the production was not moved to the UK.
Ownership of Saab Automobile
On 26 January 2010, General Motors (GM) confirmed that Spyker and GM had come to an agreement allowing Spyker to purchase
Saab Automobile
Saab Automobile AB () is a defunct automotive industry, car manufacturer that was founded in Sweden in 1945 when its parent company, Saab AB, began a project to design a small automobile. The first production model, the Saab 92, was launched in ...
,
subject to regulatory and government approval; the sale was completed on February 23, 2010.
General Motors would continue to supply Saab with engines, transmissions and also completed vehicles in the shape of the new
Saab 9-4X from GM's Mexican factory. The deal included a loan from the European Investment Bank, guaranteed by the Swedish government. It consisted of 74 million US dollars in cash up front, payable to GM by July 2010, and shares in Spyker estimated to be worth about 320 million US dollars.
On February 23, 2010, Spyker Cars closed the deal to buy Saab Automobile from General Motors. Spyker and Saab operated under the parent company Swedish Automobile, named Spyker Cars N.V.
Saab Automobile quickly ran out of money and Spyker was unable to fund the losses. The companies stopped paying their bills in early 2011. On March 30, 2011, production was halted at Saab Automobile, due to suppliers refusing to deliver without payment.
Spyker CEO Victor Muller made several attempts at acquiring funding. A joint venture with Chinese company Hawtai was announced on May 3, 2011, only to fall apart a week later. Shortly afterwards joint ventures with Chinese car maker Youngman, and Chinese car-dealership chain Pang Da were announced. Negotiations ended with Spyker attempting to sell all of the shares in Saab Automobile to the Chinese companies on October 28, 2011, for 100 million euros. This transaction did not have the approval of former Saab-owner General Motors, who refused to supply technological licenses to Youngman and Pang Da. The proposed deal fell apart. Spyker CEO Victor Muller applied for the bankruptcy of Saab Automobile on December 19, 2011.
On 16 April 2012, a meeting on Saab's bankruptcy was held at the District Court of Vänersborg. The official receivers in charge of the Saab liquidation valued the assets at US$500m and the debt at US$2,000m. After subtracting the value of the assets, Saab left a debt of US$1,500m.
Proposed sales and eventual sale of Saab
In February 2011, it was announced that Swedish Automobile, the Dutch owner of Saab Automobile, agreed to sell its sports-car unit to
Vladimir Antonov. Antonov, a former Spyker chairman and shareholder, was expected to pay 15 million euros (US$21 million) for the company.
However, in March 2011, the deal fell through, with Spyker's manufacturing partner CPP Manufacturing placing a bid, but this deal fell through later that month.
In September 2011, it was announced that Swedish Automobile would sell Spyker Cars, in an all-cash offer to an American
private equity
In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a ty ...
and
hedge fund
A hedge fund is a pooled investment fund that trades in relatively liquid assets and is able to make extensive use of more complex trading, portfolio-construction, and risk management techniques in an attempt to improve performance, such as sho ...
North Street Capital
North Street Capital, LP is a privately owned private equity and hedge fund firm based in Greenwich, Connecticut. The firm is run by Alex Mascioli, who founded the firm and is named after a street in town. The firm invests in leveraged buyouts ...
, for €32 million (US$41 million). In January 2012, Swedish Automobile again offered Spyker cars up for sale, but this sale did not actually occur.
[Washington Post - Spyker Cars](_blank)
/ref>
Saab was eventually sold in June 2012 to a Chinese-Swedish investment group called National Electric Vehicle Sweden
NEVS AB (an abbreviated form of "National Electric Vehicle Sweden") is a Swedish electric car manufacturer which acquired the assets of Saab Automobile from a bankruptcy estate in 2012. NEVS is the trademark of the company's products including ...
(NEVS).
In August 2012, Spyker announced that Youngman Ltd. acquired a 29.9% stake in its parent company Spyker N.V. for €10 million (US$12.5 million).
Spyker after Saab
In March 2013, the B6 Venator was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show
The Geneva International Motor Show is an annual auto show held in March in the Swiss city of Geneva. The show is hosted at the Palexpo, a convention centre located next to the Geneva Cointrin International Airport. The Salon is organised by th ...
, the B6 Venator was noted as Spyker's first concept car in nearly four years.
On September 16, 2013, Spyker Cars' parent Spyker N.V.
Spyker N.V. (formerly known as Spyker Cars N.V. and Swedish Automobile N.V.) was a Dutch automobile company that produced high-end sports cars. It was the holding company of the Spyker Cars marque. In 2010, the company acquired Swedish car manuf ...
lost its listing on Euronext Amsterdam
Euronext Amsterdam is a stock exchange based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Formerly known as the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, it merged on 22 September 2000 with the Brussels Stock Exchange and the Paris Stock Exchange to form Euronext. The reg ...
after failing to undergo a restructuring agreement.
On November 5, 2014, the Dutch Court "Midden Nederland" ordered Spyker to leave, within seven days, the factory they rented and to pay 152.000 euro in overdue rent. The claim was made by Jacques Walch, the owner of the factory rented by Spyker. Despite this, CEO Victor Muller insisted the company would be able to pay its bills "in a matter of days."
On 2 December 2014 Spyker NV was granted a moratorium of payment (financial restructuring) by the Dutch court "Midden Nederland". Spyker needed protection from creditors for its liquidity problems. Victor R. Muller, Spyker founder and chief executive, said "Over the past few years, Spyker has faced a number of serious difficulties and challenges resulting from, among others, the legacy of the F1 era and the acquisition of Saab Automobile AB,".
On 18 December 2014 Spyker NV was declared bankrupt by the Dutch court "Midden Nederland". Victor R. Muller, Spyker's founder and chief executive, said "In 2000 our objective was to found a global sports car manufacturer, and we did just that. During this time we deployed several challenging activities. These have affected the company, and contributed to our decline,". Spyker appealed the bankruptcy declaration, and on 29 January 2015, the court reversed the declaration. This meant that Spyker NV was protected from creditors, while solving its financial difficulties. This allowed Muller to pursue plans to merge Spyker with an unnamed "US based manufacturer of high performance electric aircraft." This proposed merger partner was eventually discovered to be a company called Volta Volare. On May 13 of that year, Spyker NV closed a deal with the creditors. Spyker owed 44 million euro and agreed to pay 12.000 euro per creditor. The curator of Saab GB was the largest creditor; it claimed 24,9 million euro. Saab GB agreed to receive a payment of 61.000 euro. A following attempt by the Latvian bank Lizings to claim more money, was declined by the court.
On July 29, 2015, Spyker exited moratorium of payment (restructuring), and resumed business operations. In March 2016, Spyker announced the production of a new model, the C8 Preliator, at the Geneva Motor Show
The Geneva International Motor Show is an annual auto show held in March in the Swiss city of Geneva. The show is hosted at the Palexpo, a convention centre located next to the Geneva Cointrin International Airport. The Salon is organised by th ...
.
In January 2021, Spyker filed for bankruptcy again.
Models
Produced
Spyker C8
The C8 Spyder was the original base model with an Audi
Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide.
Th ...
4.2 litre V8 engine
A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration.
The first V8 engine was produced by the French Antoinette company in 1904, developed and us ...
. Since the start of its production in 2000, twelve different variants have been sold. A long wheelbase version was presented at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show, called the C8 Aileron. A year later, a convertible version was presented. Horsepower ranges from 400 for the original C8 Spyder to 620 for the C8 Double 12S.
The most recent model, the C8 Preliator, was officially announced at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show. Only 50 vehicles will be produced. The car has a 4.2l supercharged
In an internal combustion engine, a supercharger compresses the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to produce more power for a given displacement.
The current categorisation is that a supercharger is a form of forced induct ...
Audi V8 producing 525 hp, resulting in a 0–100 km/h time of 3.7 seconds and a top speed of 322 km/h. The car either comes with a 6 speed manual Getrag or a 6 speed ZF automatic transmission. As with previous Spyker models, the car has typical aviation inspired design elements such as NACA styled air-inlets. Driver technology has been upgraded as well compared to previous models, with the C8 Preliator gaining a heads-up display
A head-up display, or heads-up display, also known as a HUD (), is any transparent display that presents data without requiring users to look away from their usual viewpoints. The origin of the name stems from a pilot being able to view informa ...
and bluetooth
Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is limi ...
connectivity for phones.
Spyker C12
The C12 is a luxury sports car, and was produced in two variants:
* Spyker C12 La Turbie, 2006
* Spyker C12 Zagato, 2007
Planned but not produced
Spyker D12/D8
In 2006, the Spyker D12 Peking-to-Paris high-performance SUV
A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive.
There is no commonly agreed-upon definitio ...
, was announced at the Geneva Motor Show
The Geneva International Motor Show is an annual auto show held in March in the Swiss city of Geneva. The show is hosted at the Palexpo, a convention centre located next to the Geneva Cointrin International Airport. The Salon is organised by th ...
. But the mass-production, which was slated for a mid-2008 production, was delayed and the V12 engine from the concept car has been changed to a Volkswagen W12 engine
The spark-ignition petrol engines listed below operate on the four-stroke cycle, and unless stated otherwise, use a wet sump lubrication system, and are water-cooled.ETKA official factory data
Since the Volkswagen Group is German, official int ...
at around . Its name was then changed to the D8.
Spyker hoped that the assistance of Saab, which they owned at the time, would help the D8 reach production. According to Muller in April 2011, the D8 should have started production in early 2013, with a price tag of £186,000. However, in March 2013, production was scheduled for 2016, with a production prototype due by 2014. Eventually, plans to produce the model were discontinued.
Spyker E8/E12
Spyker shareholders and CEO, Victor Muller hinted at a Maserati Quattroporte
The Maserati Quattroporte () is a four-door full-size luxury sports sedan produced by Italian automobile manufacturer Maserati. The name translated from Italian means "four doors". The car is currently in its sixth generation, with the first ge ...
, Porsche Panamera rival with an eight-cylinder (the E8) or a twelve-cylinder (the E12) engine but due to problems getting the D8 into production, the idea was ignored until 2009 when Muller has said he "believes now could be the time to resurrect the saloon." Muller believed it would take about four years from the time that the E8/E12 is revealed to actual production. It was never produced however.
Sales
Spyker's all-time high was achieved in 2006, with 94 cars sold, about 290 cars were sold between 2000 and 2010.
Voluntary financial restructuring of the company
Spyker filed a voluntary petition on December 2, 2014, for financial restructuring in an effort to address certain short-term operational and liquidity challenges. The company stated that the District Court of Midden-Nederland in Lelystad, the Netherlands (the "Court") granted Spyker's voluntary petition for temporary moratorium of payment ("surseance van betaling"), the Dutch equivalent of the American Chapter 11 proceedings, and has appointed an administrator who, together with the Board of Management, bears final responsibility for management of the company as long as the moratorium of payment status is in force. The Court's ruling to grant a temporary moratorium of payment protects the company from its creditors throughout the duration of the moratorium. The company's wholly owned subsidiary Spyker Events & Branding B.V. entered temporary moratorium of payment a month ago.
Results
Spyker has lost money each year since 2007. This table summarizes the key figures of Spyker Cars from 2007 to 2012. The figures originate from the Spyker Annual Report in 2011 and 2012.
References
External links
Spyker Cars' official website
{{Automotive industry in the Netherlands
Car manufacturers of the Netherlands
Sports car manufacturers
Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1999
Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 2021
Zeewolde
Car brands
Dutch racecar constructors
Dutch companies established in 1999