In 1898, Dutch brothers Jacobus and Hendrik-Jan Spijker built their first motorcar. The same year, the folks at Spyker--a name chosen by the brothers for ease of pronunciation by simple-tongued Anglophones--fabricated the "Golden Coach," a motorcar that still ferries Dutch royals. Like many global stock markets, Spyker's run screeched to a halt in 1929.
In the late 1990s, Victor Muller and Maarten de Bruijn resurrected the Spyker nameplate and set up shop in Zeewolde, The Netherlands. As was the case a century ago, every vehicle produced in Spyker's factory is hand-built. Unlike their boxy ancestors, today's Spykers sport flamboyant, curvaceous exterior styling. Duly luxe interiors include quilted seat covers, a plethora of leather choices, and available aluminum fascia.
In 2000, Spyker's marketing people whet our appetite with a peek at the ultra-exotic C8 Spyder roadster at the Birmingham Motor Show. In 2005, 107 years after the brothers Spijker produced their first automobile, the U.S. government cleared the reincarnated company to peddle its wares on this side of the pond.
The Spyker crew served a four-course meal at the 2006 Los Angeles Auto Show. The rear-wheel-drive C8 Laviolette coupe and its roadster iteration, the C8 Spyder, are powered by mid-mounted 400-hp Audi V-8 engines coupled to six-speed manual boxes. In the C8 Double12 S coupe, the Audi V-8 is supercharged and produces 500 hp. According to Spyker's engineers, those 500 horses can propel the Double12 to 200 MPH. A 500-hp version of Audi's W-12 engine outfits the C12 LaTurbie coupe--the name is an homage to the 1922 victory of the Spyker C4 at the Mont de la Turbie hill climb.
Until we sit behind a Spyker steering wheel, we reserve final judgment; but if function fits form, it will be one outrageous ride.