Spyker confirms fresh investment and new models to come
High-end Dutch maker gets investment from two businessmen, rescuing it from financial difficulties
Dutch sports car maker Spyker has confirmed plans to expand its product line with two supercars and an SUV after new investors purchased the company.
Russian oligarch and SMP Racing owner Boris Rotenberg and his business partner, Michail Pessis, have taken Spyker into a collaboration with other firms they own, including motorsport firm BR Engineering and design and marketing company Milan Morady. Both have previously owned some of the 265 Spyker cars produced to date.
The investment means Spyker will be able to produce the previously announced C8 Preliator supercar, the D8 Peking-to-Paris SUV and the B6 Venator supercar for 2021.
Spyker has endured a turbulent two decades since its foundation in 1999. Years of financial difficulties were exacerbated when it purchased Saab from General Motors in 2010 and the company promptly went bust, forcing Spyker into bankruptcy.
Although Spyker restructured in 2015, it has continued to struggle.
Spyker said: “There can be no doubt that Spyker has had a few very tough years since the demise of Saab Automobile AB in 2011. With this new partnership, those days are definitely gone and Spyker will become an important player in the super sports car market segment.”
The first new Spyker to enter production will be the C8 Preliator Spyder. First revealed at the 2017 Geneva motor show, this Aston Martin-rivalling supercar is expected to be powered by a Koenigsegg-developed naturally aspirated 5.0-litre V8 engine.
The engine attached to the Geneva show car allowed it to accelerate from in 3.7sec and reach a top speed of 201mph, although it's unclear if this performance will be retained in the production model.
The D8 Peking-to-Paris SUV has its roots in the D12 concept (above), which Spyker revealed at the Geneva motor show 11 years earlier, while the B6 Venator was revealed in 2013.
Alongside the new models, Spyker will open its first international store in Monaco in 2021. Further stores are expected to open later on.
Spyker also claims that it aims to re-enter international motor racing. The erstwhile Spyker F1 team was created in 2006 but managed just one season before it was sold and renamed Force India.
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