Spyker is an unusual brand
. The Dutch firm’s catalog of cars is a tour de force of high-quality craftsmanship and unique choices, but it has consistently struggled to find an audience. How did the brains behind the Spyker C8 fail to secure a foothold in the luxury car world
, and what does their future look like? Early days
In 1880, says Spyker
, two Dutch brothers, blacksmiths by trade, launched a carriage-building company. As they built and worked on the carriages of the Netherlands, their German neighbor Karl Benz was hard at work on a different project. In 1886, Benz patented his technology for a gas-powered vehicle. Hendrik Jan and Jacobus Spijker were in the right place at the right time. Three years later, Spyker debuted a motorcar that was powered by a Benz engine. Its craftsmanship made waves, even within an uninitiated audience. This gift for look and feel would go on to characterize the work of Spyker over the course of the firm’s life.
In fact, just two years later Spyker would build a remarkably ornate carriage for the queen of the Netherlands. This “Golden Coach” would go on to be used in ceremonial events for the next century.
A fatal detour
The founding brothers of Spyker had set a precedent. The vehicles produced by their firm would pay special attention to design details, and would spare no expense in the bargain. But as Spyker shifted its focus towards speed and endurance, it appeared to flail.
After some experiments in racing and endurance touring, with a few records broken along the way, the company found that it couldn’t quite move product. In 1925, the pioneering Dutch company declared bankruptcy. Jan and Jacobus Spijker’s middle-aged automaker appeared to be no more.
A tenuous resurrection
In October of 2000, Y2K concerns 10 months alleviated, the world saw a ghost. Spyker, 75 years dead, appeared at the Birmingham Motor Show with a beautifully crafted vehicle, the Spyker C8 Spyder.
Though 20-odd years old now, sitting in that awkward spot between no longer novel and not quite vintage, it manages to look both current and classic. Scissor doors, wing mirrors, and a creamy leather interior complement an aviation-inspired cockpit. How could this supercar be in the same graduating year as the first Ford Escape?
And yet, despite the return to the craftsmanship that the founders of Spyker espoused, this reborn company wasn’t ready for the limelight. A decade after its resurgence it had sold cars numbering only in the hundreds, reports Motor1
, and even investment with other automakers like now-defunct Saab hadn’t done the trick. The year 2014 was an echo of 1925, with another declaration of bankruptcy. But Spyker has proven itself to be hard to kill—in 2015 the decision was reversed, and the firm continued with its plans to churn out dazzling supercars. Here in 2022, three models have been promised to us: the Spyker C8 Preliator, the Spyker D8 Peking-to-Paris SUV, and the Spyker B6 Venator, says CarBuzz
. Maybe order your Preliator now. This mercurial Dutch company might disappear for another 75 years.
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