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Spyker C8 Spyder - the low-flying Dutchman

Name: Spyker 60 HP Racer 1903
Brand: Spyker

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Created on July 3, 2023

Text:

Henri Weidmann/Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

Motorcar Studios – Courtesy of RM/Sotheby's

Wolfram Hamann

Bruno von Rotz

Motorcar Studios - Courtesy RM/Sotheby's

edvvc/Wikipedia

Tom Gidden - Courtesy RM/Sotheby's

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Daniel Reinhard

Motorcar Studios – Courtesy of RM/Sotheby's

Wolfram Hamann

Bruno von Rotz

Motorcar Studios - Courtesy RM/Sotheby's

edvvc/Wikipedia

Tom Gidden - Courtesy RM/Sotheby's

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - Swing doors are always a feast for the eyes

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - only 4.16 meters long

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - you can actually get the hood bead under the cover as well

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - the car will soon be admired by tourists on the ship

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - the Spyder is only 108 cm high

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - you can also drive with the doors open

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - a sports car for beautiful days

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - a Spyker is in particularly good hands in front of a marina

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - the perfect backdrop for the Spyder

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - despite its width of 1.88 meters, the car feels compact

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - ... in the ears of the V8 from Audi

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - ... sporty, comfortable and unmistakable

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - most people probably see it from this perspective

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - the Spyder can be driven remarkably comfortably

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - Cabin for two people

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - cramped cockpit for two passengers

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - lots of leather and even more aluminum were used here

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - View of the dashboard, the ignition button is already released

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - the gearshift linkage is open, reminiscent of Bugatti

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - the swing doors with patented mechanism give access to the interior

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - Leather and aluminum - no plastic

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - a car like a sculpture

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - only a small part of the side windows can be lowered

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - the exposed gearshift mechanism

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - Airbags didn't exist at the beginning

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - it's better to familiarize yourself with the controls before you start, but you don't need a manual to do so

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - many, many toggle switches

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - stylish operation of the air conditioning system

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - it takes some time until you have counted all the "Spyker" moves

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - standing pedals like in a racing car

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - there's also a Spyker emblem between the seats

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - easy access with the top down

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - the seating position fits

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - the 4.2-liter engine from the Audi S8

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - instead of Audi it now says Sypker

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - the V8 engine produces 405 hp at 7000 rpm

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - Spyker emblem on the front hood

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - Spyker emblem on the nose

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - Pushrod suspensions like in F1 race cars

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - Projection headlights

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - the patented rear-view mirror

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - Air intake with grille

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - Fuel filler cap integrated into the air intake on the left, of course with Spyker emblem

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - two individually mounted rear light units

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - even the exhaust pipes are labeled

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - remote control with the Latin Spyker motto "No road is impassable for the stubborn"

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The all-wheel drive 60/80 HP Racer on a demonstration drive in England.

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Double pioneer: the Spyker 60 HP Racer from 1903, now on display in the Louwman Museum in The Hague.

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Spyker 60HP 4x4 (1903) - exhibited in the Louwman Museum in The Hague

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Fantastic and magnificent ornamentation on the Spyker 15/22 HP Three Quarter Landaulette.

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Impressive tourer - a Spyker C4 Torpedo from 1921 at the Interclassics Maastricht 2020

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Spyker C4 Torpedo (1921) - in the special exhibition "Forgotten Classics" at Interclassics Maastricht 2020

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Spyker C4 All-Weather Coupé (1922) - in the Louwman Museum in The Hague

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Spyker Silvestris V8 (1999) - the predecessor of the C8. The one-off is understandably a long way from the finesse of the production vehicle.

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Spyker C8 Laviolette (2008) - offered as lot 179 at the RM/Sotheby's auction in Paris on February 5, 2020

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Spyker C8 Preliator (2016) - can be ordered - at the Geneva Motor Show 2016

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Spyker C8 Preliator (2016) - when less than 600 hp is enough - at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show

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Spyker C8 Spyder - reincarnation of a glorious manufacturer from the Netherlands.

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Spyker Cars was able to unveil the C8 Spyder just four years after the start of prototype construction.

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It's hard to find much more exoticism and individuality than in a Spyker C8. However, the Dutch car is not quite everyone's cup of tea.

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Leather and aluminum as far as the eye can see in the unique cockpit.

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2006) - the hood is unlocked with the latch in the door frame.

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An Audi heart also beats in the standard Spyker, the C8. Its large-series origins have been perfectly concealed.

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The C8 is equipped with stainless steel wishbones and pushrod damping.

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2006) - this is not an aircraft engine, but a V8 with five valves per cylinder.

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - has more to do with airplanes than boats, but still fits the bill

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - Rarity on the beach

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - corner-hungry, but without driving aids

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - no longer has the four-spoke steering wheel of the early versions

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Spyker C8 Spyder (2008) - Cockpit for two

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Summary

What do the world's first four-wheel drive car, the Golden Coach of the Dutch court and the C8 Spyder have in common? They all come from Spyker, a brand steeped in tradition and prestige that was founded over 120 years ago but disappeared again after the First World War. It was relaunched in 2000 and experienced a second heyday with the C8 model. The mid-engined sports car even made it onto the big screen... This article explains how the neo-classic C8 Spyder came about and shows the car and its predecessors in many pictures.

This article contains the following chapters

From Hilversum to the court
One car, two milestones
Rise and fall
Daring the dream
Old brand revived
Comeback with a bang
Spyker substance
Aircraft flair for the road
An exotic car as if from a single mold
Not cheap and yet no guarantee of success

Estimated reading time: 11min

Preview (beginning of the article)

When the Spyker C8 Spyder entered the sports car scene in 2000, only a few people were familiar with its brand name. Yet Spyker cars had already existed a century earlier, some of which had had a major influence on automotive history... In 1880, brothers Jacobus and Hendrik-Jan Spijker founded a carriage-building company under their family name in Hilversum in northern Holland, around thirty kilometers south-east of Amsterdam. With an eye on the export markets, however, the company name was changed shortly afterwards to Spyker. In 1898, the two laid the foundations for their automobile production with a vehicle that was no longer pulled by cloven hooves but powered by a Benz engine. Their vehicles were characterized by first-class workmanship and high-quality materials and quickly gained a good reputation. The delivery of the "Golden Coach" to Queen Wilhelmina, also in 1898, was the proverbial accolade.

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