What's going on with Spyker? Thoughts on their cars?
Discussion
Haven't heard much news from them. They showed a V12 version of the C8 quite some time ago, but nothing ever materialized...are they about to go bankrupt or something?
What's the general consensus on their cars? Some publications I've read claim the C8 is a hoot, others say it's rubbish. I came very close to buying one myself, but changed my mind once I got the chance to sit in one...the door hinges wobbled quite a bit, the vents on the air-conditioning didn't move...it all felt very much like a glorified kit car.
What do you think?
What's the general consensus on their cars? Some publications I've read claim the C8 is a hoot, others say it's rubbish. I came very close to buying one myself, but changed my mind once I got the chance to sit in one...the door hinges wobbled quite a bit, the vents on the air-conditioning didn't move...it all felt very much like a glorified kit car.
What do you think?
i personally think their cars are wonderful examples of bespoke engineering.
you have to remember that the powerplant comes from Audi, so is a very proven unit. performance wise, there are quicker machines for same/less money - but it depends what you're after.
the aesthetics are glorious on these machines, and i have to admit, after meeting the chap in charge of Spyker at a car show in Monaco, they do have a passion for their product.
Lately, the name seems to pop up more often than a few years ago, so I would say they're progressively establishing themselves into the market.
you have to remember that the powerplant comes from Audi, so is a very proven unit. performance wise, there are quicker machines for same/less money - but it depends what you're after.
the aesthetics are glorious on these machines, and i have to admit, after meeting the chap in charge of Spyker at a car show in Monaco, they do have a passion for their product.
Lately, the name seems to pop up more often than a few years ago, so I would say they're progressively establishing themselves into the market.
I used to work for Hunt and Keal which was an official Spyker dealer (and Subaru....what a mix!)in Kensington.
We had one of the very early C8's and it was a wonderful piece of kit too look at (from most angles) but as with many things the more time you spend with them the more problems arise.
Overheating was a problem but we had this sorted by having some new rads put in and it was sent back to Holland to have some major changes to the suspension set up and components which made a real difference.
The brakes where pretty much non-existent....in comparison to a modern day over-assisted car.......you had to give them a proper shove to slow the thing down but once up to a decent temp they where OK. However at speed on motorway they provided some hariy moments.
Ever tried filling one up..........nearly impossible. The fuel filler is located in the passenger side air intake and takes some fiddling to get the fuel to flow!
The overall build quality is great, but when you begin to look under the skin of the thing there where a few little niggles. Around the inside of the healights for instance it was very badly finished I would not expect it on a £9000 Toyota. It leaked like a sieve.........but then again they should not be out in the rain!
I was really lucky to be driving aorund in one on a quite a regular basis and I have a real passion for them as I believe the guys that build them take a huge amount of care and the design work is amazing!
For the money you can get much, much better cars but I really do not think that Spyker set out to build the most amazing car on earth........it is a real statement and, in my opinion, (even though it is seriously flawed) an amzing one.
Below are 2 photos of them outside the showroom.........we sold the Green one and teh Silver one which was the earlier car actually went back to the factory........with a few miles on teh clock!!!
We had one of the very early C8's and it was a wonderful piece of kit too look at (from most angles) but as with many things the more time you spend with them the more problems arise.
Overheating was a problem but we had this sorted by having some new rads put in and it was sent back to Holland to have some major changes to the suspension set up and components which made a real difference.
The brakes where pretty much non-existent....in comparison to a modern day over-assisted car.......you had to give them a proper shove to slow the thing down but once up to a decent temp they where OK. However at speed on motorway they provided some hariy moments.
Ever tried filling one up..........nearly impossible. The fuel filler is located in the passenger side air intake and takes some fiddling to get the fuel to flow!
The overall build quality is great, but when you begin to look under the skin of the thing there where a few little niggles. Around the inside of the healights for instance it was very badly finished I would not expect it on a £9000 Toyota. It leaked like a sieve.........but then again they should not be out in the rain!
I was really lucky to be driving aorund in one on a quite a regular basis and I have a real passion for them as I believe the guys that build them take a huge amount of care and the design work is amazing!
For the money you can get much, much better cars but I really do not think that Spyker set out to build the most amazing car on earth........it is a real statement and, in my opinion, (even though it is seriously flawed) an amzing one.
Below are 2 photos of them outside the showroom.........we sold the Green one and teh Silver one which was the earlier car actually went back to the factory........with a few miles on teh clock!!!
Hi,
I work for Broughtons who are the official Spyker dealer (and Bentley, Aston Martin, and Koenigsegg dealers) based in Surrey, Berkshire and Cheltenham.
We have had the pleasure to come on board with Spyker at a very exciting time for them, unlike Bish who dealt with the company at its very early stages we have the pleasure of seeing not only the early cars and sorting their teething problems out (which are pretty few and far between) but the newer Karmann body cars which have much more of a production finish than the earlier vehicles.
There are some pictures of a new Karmann body car here http://www.flickr.com/gp/13486504@N05/Yb2y96
Like most small manufacturers the early cars are always changing, park any two next to each other and there will be a number of small differences, Spyker are very good at updating each car even the older ones to bring them into line with the current model year. Compared to the early days Spyker are now making lots more cars, last year production was 99 units they have sorted the C8 and have it exactly as they want it now, the finish is first class and I have no problems from customers who run these cars with regards to both reliability (thanks to that Audi engine) or the finish and build quality of their Spyker.
Overheating was a problem in the earlier cars and something that was quickly rectified with a different cooling system, the brakes which are non-servo assisted take some getting used to but if you enjoy driving they are fantastic and excellent to balance the car with when driving hard, servo-assistance is now available should you wish however I prefer the cars without.
Bish, I agree the fuel filler was a killer for me on the first car we had, I would spend 30 minutes filling the car up before giving up at half a tank, however we found the problem and have sorted each car…! Thank goodness!!
I like Bish am lucky to spend a lot of time driving these cars and think it is one of the most involved driving experiences ever, yes there are cars that are quicker but when you really get the Spyker that is not what you are interested in, one person who has got the Spyker is Phil James, aka BossCerbera, he has borrowed the Rio Prestige C8 Spyder for a long period and has given an unbiased review of the car on Pistonheads which sums up the car very well, you can view it here… http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...
To TargaFlorio, I invite you to the showroom to view a later car and see what you think, I believe you would be pleasantly surprised…
If anyone has any questions on these cars then feel free to PM me..
Tom.
I work for Broughtons who are the official Spyker dealer (and Bentley, Aston Martin, and Koenigsegg dealers) based in Surrey, Berkshire and Cheltenham.
We have had the pleasure to come on board with Spyker at a very exciting time for them, unlike Bish who dealt with the company at its very early stages we have the pleasure of seeing not only the early cars and sorting their teething problems out (which are pretty few and far between) but the newer Karmann body cars which have much more of a production finish than the earlier vehicles.
There are some pictures of a new Karmann body car here http://www.flickr.com/gp/13486504@N05/Yb2y96
Like most small manufacturers the early cars are always changing, park any two next to each other and there will be a number of small differences, Spyker are very good at updating each car even the older ones to bring them into line with the current model year. Compared to the early days Spyker are now making lots more cars, last year production was 99 units they have sorted the C8 and have it exactly as they want it now, the finish is first class and I have no problems from customers who run these cars with regards to both reliability (thanks to that Audi engine) or the finish and build quality of their Spyker.
Overheating was a problem in the earlier cars and something that was quickly rectified with a different cooling system, the brakes which are non-servo assisted take some getting used to but if you enjoy driving they are fantastic and excellent to balance the car with when driving hard, servo-assistance is now available should you wish however I prefer the cars without.
Bish, I agree the fuel filler was a killer for me on the first car we had, I would spend 30 minutes filling the car up before giving up at half a tank, however we found the problem and have sorted each car…! Thank goodness!!
I like Bish am lucky to spend a lot of time driving these cars and think it is one of the most involved driving experiences ever, yes there are cars that are quicker but when you really get the Spyker that is not what you are interested in, one person who has got the Spyker is Phil James, aka BossCerbera, he has borrowed the Rio Prestige C8 Spyder for a long period and has given an unbiased review of the car on Pistonheads which sums up the car very well, you can view it here… http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...
To TargaFlorio, I invite you to the showroom to view a later car and see what you think, I believe you would be pleasantly surprised…
If anyone has any questions on these cars then feel free to PM me..
Tom.
might well be wrong, but were the photos in this thread taken in Lexham Mews in Kensington?
There is/was a Subaru dealer at the top of the adjoining mews (Radcliffe Mews) who also used to be a Saab dealer long ago.
At No. 12 Lexham Mews is / was a small but very hi-tech. gym which, prior to 2001, was actually the studio of a small graphic design company, being my business at that time - those cobbles look very familiar!!!
The Spyker sounds great in many ways though I'm still not sure about the styling but, I suspect what really matters is the fact that some people will adore the Spyker, some will want to have a Spyker beyond any thoughts of logic or 'fitting-in' even though some will find themselves (as usual) wallowing in the grey, boring world of talking about the cost of parts and servicing or resale values and other irrelevant tosh...
More power to individualist cars, more power to individuals!
There is/was a Subaru dealer at the top of the adjoining mews (Radcliffe Mews) who also used to be a Saab dealer long ago.
At No. 12 Lexham Mews is / was a small but very hi-tech. gym which, prior to 2001, was actually the studio of a small graphic design company, being my business at that time - those cobbles look very familiar!!!
The Spyker sounds great in many ways though I'm still not sure about the styling but, I suspect what really matters is the fact that some people will adore the Spyker, some will want to have a Spyker beyond any thoughts of logic or 'fitting-in' even though some will find themselves (as usual) wallowing in the grey, boring world of talking about the cost of parts and servicing or resale values and other irrelevant tosh...
More power to individualist cars, more power to individuals!
Bish said:
I know that gym very well indeed.
If you've actually been into no 12 you'll probably have noticed the 'aroma' of two or three people's 40 a day Marlboro habits that being hard to shift when it gets ingrained into every pore of a building like that! I just want to know where all the money I haven't spent on cigarettes has gone to since 2001 - a rough calculation since then showed me that I had nothing to show for the lack of expenditure!One of the chaps who worked at that dealer in Radley Mews was a Croatian bloke we knew as 'Pero' - he 'accidentally' got out of the wreckage of Zagreb and 'slid' into England in the 1990's.
Was he still there when you were?
He was one of life's feet-landing chaps and used to insist on calling a Lamborghini
a Lam-borrrrrh-jeeeee-neeee
and then chatting up our wives, any intern girls from colleges in the UK and America and any passing client women, usually with his very scarily accented Balkenglish... if he is and you are, tell him Angela Price probably said hello...
Totally agree with everything Tommy posted.
It was interesting to see the increase of quality from the first cars we had to the customers cars we delivered.
And as for the drive, not the fastest, not the best handling, but certainly one of the most fun.
And a hello to you Tommy!
Ruttboy.
It was interesting to see the increase of quality from the first cars we had to the customers cars we delivered.
And as for the drive, not the fastest, not the best handling, but certainly one of the most fun.
And a hello to you Tommy!
Ruttboy.
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