Though it’s only been around for eight years, Spyker has a Formula One team, an open sports car that can do 0-60 in under 5 seconds, and a reputation among those in the know for building expensive, personalized supercars. It seems as if the Netherlands-based company sprang out of nowhere in 2000, but Spyker can trace its roots back over 100 years … sort of.
Spyker’s Early Years
In 1898 in Amsterdam, brothers Jacobus and Hendrik-Jan Spijker built their first two-cylinder, five-horsepower car. Coachbuilders by trade, the brothers crafted the body and added an engine built by Benz. After enduring the repeated mispronunciation of their name by customers in foreign countries, the brothers changed the spelling of the company name to Spyker in 1903. This was a shrewd marketing move.
But no marketing could give Spyker the boost that the Peking-to-Paris race in 1907 did. Five cars started the race in China – an Itala, a Spyker, two DeDions, and a three-wheeled Contal. The Itala came in first, the Spyker second. (The DeDions rolled into Paris much later, while the little six-horsepower Contal had been swallowed whole by the Gobi desert.)
Despite its successes, including the introduction of a dust shield that kept occupants of the car clean on the unimproved roads of the early 1900s, the company had financial troubles. When Hendrik-Jan Spijker died in a ferry accident in 1907, Spyker found itself rudderless and, eventually, bankrupt. Investors bought the company and continued to build high-quality, well-designed cars -- without Jacobus Spijker.
The Downward Spiral
The beginning of World War I in 1914 took a huge bite out of the already small luxury car market. In 1915, Spyker was purchased by the Dutch Aircraft Factory, and its assembly lines were converted to build fighter planes.
In 1920, the company introduced its first new automobile in years, the C4. It had an engine built by Wilhelm Maybach, creator of the first Mercedes. The C4 smashed the Rolls-Royce long-distance driving record of 15,000 km by completing 30,000 km. But this accomplishment was not enough to keep Spyker afloat.
By 1922, the company was bankrupt again. Despite attempts to keep it humming, the manufacturer finally ran out of money in 1926. Spyker had turned out 1,500-2,000 units in its entire 28-year run.
Not a peep was heard for nearly 75 years.
A 21st-Century Resurrection
In October 2000, the company was resurrected by fashion-world mogul Victor Muller with the unveiling of the Spyker C8 Spyder at the Birmingham Auto Show in the UK. Spyker quickly followed up with the C8 Laviolette, a hard-top version of the low-slung, open Spyder, in February 2001. Spyker has since introduced several models, including a “Super SUV” called the D12 Peking-to-Paris, a nod to the company’s history.
The only connection between today’s Spyker company and its forebear is the distinctive name, but the modern manufacturer trades heavily on its perceived heritage. The cockpits of its cars are outfitted with turned aluminum dashes, tufted leather, and old-fashioned toggles for everything from the radio to the air conditioning. Spyker’s logo, a propeller and wheel, is even a nod to the company’s stint as an airplane manufacturer. The cars are even still built in the Netherlands, though at a new, state-of-the-art facility.
Bridging the Past and the Future
As in the past, the current crop of Spykers is made up of luxury items. The cars are built to order in small numbers, though customers can buy one off the showroom floor if they like. For example, only 100 D12 Peking-to-Paris Super SUVs will be built for worldwide distribution this year. As you might expect, prices for such rare luxury are equally expensive, with most models running about $300,000.
Spyker has had seven successful years in its current incarnation. In the next two decades, we’ll find out if its small-batch, handmade cars can outlast its predecessor’s 28-year run.
- C8 Spyder LWB
- C8 Laviolette LWB
- C8 Laviolette SWB
- C12 Zagato
- D8 Peking to Paris
- C8 Laviolette GT2-R race car
- C8 Aileron
