The Story of Spyker - Nulla Tenaci Invia Est Via
When translated from Latin, it means For the Tenacious, No Road is Impassible.
If you were told to name a European country that specializes in making cars, you would probably think of more well-known nations in the EU that are famous for building cars, such as Germany, Italy, France, Britain and now, Sweden. But what if I told you that the Dutch were involved in making cars since the twentieth century? Introducing Spyker, a Dutch car manufacturer with a rich history, rising up in the skies manufacturing aircraft during the World Wars to coach building cars derived from aircraft down below on the ground.
Spyker built some marvelous machines such as the Dutch Royal State carriage, still being used today by the Dutch monarchy, famous aircraft that helped the Dutch Air Force survive both World Wars, to coach built cars ahead of its time, with one being the world's fastest car for a short while. Unfortunately, Spyker is fading away as more famous automobile manufacturers such as Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche overtaking them in terms of sales and popularity, along with the company going through financial turmoil after a purchase that had gone horribly wrong...
Founding Days
The Dutch Golden State Coach, built by Spyker.
In the year 1880, two Dutch brothers, Hendrik Jan and Jakobus Spijker had decided to create their won car company. Both of them having lots of experience in metalworking, as they were both blacksmiths, so they were charting into pretty familiar territory. Based in the little town of Hilversum in the Netherlands, they built horse-drawn carriages for higher-class buyers at the time. In 1898, the Dutch Monarchy had commissioned them to build a special carriage, the Spyker Golden Coach, still in use today.
After that special commission, Jan and Spyker's business grew exponentially. Their little factory in Hilversum couldn't keep up with the increased demand, so they decided to move to Trompbeurg, in the Dutch capital Amsterdam, and purchased an even bigger factory. In 1899, they started building automobiles. Being one of the first car manufacturers, they displayed two of their first models after a year of development, two-cylinder cars producing 3 or 5 horsepower built similarly to the Benz Motorwagen. It was the most powerful car at the time.
Innovations by Spyker
The Spyker 60HP Grand Prix racer.
Soon after, Spyker started building cars with four-cylinder engines. They built a car powered by a five-cylinder boxer engine called the Spyker 5HP, as it made only 5 horsepower. A water cooled engine was also in the works, making 6 horsepower. However, it was the legendary Spyker 60HP Grand Prix racer that took the world by storm, powered by a mind-boggling 60 horsepower engine, a car in a league of its own in terms of power at the time.
They pioneered the automobile by debuting the world's first four-wheel drive car, the Spyker 60HP Grand Prix racer. It was the first car in the world with a front-engined, four-wheel drive layout. It was also the first car in the world to be powered by an engine with six cylinders, outrunning the competition in terms of acceleration, top speed and handling. It had revolutionized the automobile industry, as those amazing feats achieved by the Spyker brothers were never even thought before, or were deemed impossible...
Taking Flight
The Spyker C1, inspired by aviation.
Spyker was a well-known badge in the motorsport realm too. One notable racing victory was the Peking-to-Paris rally in 1907. Imagine the 24 hours of Le Mans and the Dakar rally combined into one race, with the entire continent of Asia and 3 quarters of Europe as its racetrack. It was the most prestigious race of its time before Le Mans. Spyker won the race with the Spyker 14 P/K, a modified Spyker 14 adapted to survive the harsh conditions of the rally along the way. The car had a massive advantage over the competition thanks to its newly developed 4 wheel drive system. French racing driver M. Goddard took six months to complete the rally through 15,000 kilometers across two continents.
In the beginning of World War 1, all manufacturing businesses were shifted to support the war effort in the Netherlands. Spyker merged with Dutch aircraft manufacturer N.V and started building aircraft with their metalworking expertise. Out of that merger, Spyker had decided on what their motto should be. "Nulla Tenaci Invia est Via", which means "No Road is Impassible" in Latin. Spyker manufactured a total of 100 aircraft and 200 aircraft engines. After the end of the World Wars, Spyker manufactured the C1, a car inspired by aircraft, more aerodynamic than boxier cars built at the time. Out of their experience of building warplanes, they built it as a show car as most of its features were still road-illegal. A very limited number of C1s were produced.
Spyker's Golden Era
The Spyker C4, the 1922 speed record holder.
Spyker broke two very prestigious records in its lifespan. The Spyker Tenax broke the world endurance record. It had completed 30,360 kilometers through harsh European winter weather, beating the previous record holder, Rolls-Royce, by 6000 kilometers. It was a huge marketing campaign for Spyker, proving to the world that the cars they build had a high standard of quality and durability in mind, making it to be able to go through harsh winter conditions and still run like clockwork.
However, famous racing driver Selwyn Edge had believed that technology had progressed enough for an attempt to break the world speed record in 1907. He commissioned Spyker to build a custom made Spyker C4, as they were known for speed and prestige at the time. Fitted with a new streamlined and lightweight racing body, he drove an average of 120 kilometers per hour during two twelve-hour periods, making Spyker the world record holder of the fastest car in the world. It was the Agera RS of its time.
Spyker's Downfall
A portrait of Jakobus and Hendrik Jan-Spyker, racing the 60HP Grand Prix racer.
Unfortunately, one of Spyker's founders, Hendrik-Jan Spijker, died en route back to the Netherlands from England when the ferry he was on, the SS Berlin, sank. His death brought great losses to the company, even leading them to bankruptcy. Several attempts were made to revive the brand, one of them being a group of investors taking over the company from its second founder, Jakobus Spyker. They had managed to restart production and tried their best to keep the company alive, but failed.
Rebirth of Spyker
The Spyker C12 LaTurbie Zagato.
Founded by Victor Muller and Maarten de Brujin, they resurrected the Spyker name in the year 1999. One year later, at the 2000 Birmingham Motor Show, they had unveiled their first car, the Spyker C8. Spyker's rich history of building aircraft is reflected in the car's design. Before the C8, another car, the Spyker Silvestris was built, which foreshadowed Spyker's new cars. The car came in two body styles, the Laviolette and the Spyder. Both are powered by a 4.0-liter Audi V8 engine producing 400 horsepower. It had an acceleration time from 0-100 kilometers per hour in 4.5 seconds, with a top speed of 300 kilometers per hour. In 2005, Spyker had entered the United States for the first time in its history.
Once again, Spyker was involved in Motorsport, this time with the C8 Double 12 R, a racing variant of the C8 that raced in the GT3 cup. A limited-run road legal variant was soon produced, called the C8 Double 12 S. In 2006, they released the D8 Peking-to-Paris concept, a super-SUV concept made in homage to the 1907 Peking-to-Paris rally victory at the 75th Geneva International Motor Show.
Progress of Spyker
The Spyker-Midland team Formula 1 car.
In 2006, Spyker had acquired the Midland Formula 1 team, and through that purchase, they entered Formula 1 for the first time in the company's history. One year later, Spyker had introduced a second model in its lineup, the C12 LaTurbie, designed by Zagato, the prestigious design company responsible for some of the most beautiful cars on the road today. The C8 had also made its debut in 2007, a luxurious Grand Touring car featuring the classic and retro Spyker aircraft design language. In 2009, Spyker had entered endurance racing once again, this time at the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans, finishing fifth in its class with the C8 Laviolette GT2R.
In 2010, Spyker unveiled the C8 Spyder. In the same year, GM had made an agreement with Spyker on the purchase of a large share of Saab, a struggling Swedish car manufacturer that also specialized in building aircraft. GM would manage the manufacturing process of future cars along with supplying engines for them, while Spyker managed the financial aspects of the company. However, on Febuary 2010, Spyker had fully taken over Saab from GM.
Financial Turmoil
The beautiful Spyker B6 Venator.
Unfortunately, Spyker had lost a lot of money, so they had decided to sell Saab once again. Spyker's CEO, Victor Muller, made several attempts to save the company through acquired funding. A joint venture with a Chinese company, Hawtai, was announced in 2011, only to fall apart only a week alter. After that failed attempt, they partnered up with Chinese manufacturer Youngman, along with opening up a dealer in China to try to turn a profit through Chinese sales. Saab was fully sold for 100 million Euros. However, its former parent company, General Motors, did not approve of this one bit, and stopped supplying licences to use and sell their products to the new owners. As a result, Saab filed for bankruptcy.
One year later, Spyker had followed in the footsteps of Saab, filing for bankruptcy. The company was sold to Russian businessman Vladimir Antonov, a former Spyker shareholder. He agreed to pay 15 million Euros for the company, but the deal fell through. Spyker's manufacturing partner tried to take over the company, but failed too. They were desperate for at least some financial aid, until a turnaround happened in 2015...
Recovery and Today
The newly announced Spyker C8 Preliator, powered by Koenigsegg.
Spyker had completely restructured its management and business run as usual. While the company went through financial difficulties, two beautiful concepts were released, the B6 Venator, and the B6 Venator Spyder, two luxury GT concepts, which were sadly, never produced. Because the current C8 was aging, they decided to design and develop an entirely new car, the C8 Preliator.
Inspired by aviation, it was a luxury Grand Tourer with classic aircraft and automobile design language. It offered a rare combination of heritage, design, craftsmanship, performance and exclusivity. The 2-door mid-engine sports car made its debut at the 2016 annual Geneva International Motor Show. One year later, the C8 Preliator Spyder was unveiled on the 2017 Geneva Motor Show.
A historic deal in the company was also made. Swedish Hypercar builder Koenigsegg made an agreement to supply the Spyker C8 models with their insanely powerful V8 engines, powering some of the worlds fastest cars, such as the Agera RS, Regera and One:1. It will replace the aging Audi V8 that they use in their lineup, and once the cars are produced for the road, we all cant wait to see and feel how awesome the C8 is.
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