800hp C8 Preliator XXV Coupe signals Spyker return

A manual, a handcrafted aluminum body, and a look like no other - new Spyker picks up where the old left off

Resurrecting and reimagining the past appeared to be a strong theme from this year’s Monterey Car Week. From a flatnose 911 to a reworked Diablo Roadster, a contemporary revision of the McLaren F1 to Koenigsegg’s resurrected racecar, the new cars were nothing if not recognisable for 2026. There’s one more to add to the list as well, lost in the millionaire maelstrom of the weekend: the new Spyker C8 Preliator XXV Coupe.

Which, in keeping with the theme of the week, looks quite a bit like a classic Spyker - despite being an all new machine. Certainly anyone familiar with the previous C8 Aileron - or even the C8 Laviolette of 25 years ago - will recognise the Spyker silhouette, and the nods to aviation. Note the rear lights ‘shaped like jet fighter afterburners’, NACA ducts as air intakes, and a giant central fin that aims to evoke the C1 Aerocoque of 1919. ‘Spyker turned up to 11’ feels a tad cliched, but you see where we’re coming from - it’s the most Spykery looking Spyker to ever have existed. With even more rose gold, too.

That impression extends to the powertrain, too: where once a 400hp V8 sat in the middle of a Spyker, now it’s an 800hp V8. That’s thanks to two turbos and four litres of capacity, with 217mph claimed. There’s a manual gearbox, too, complete with another spectacular Spyker gear mechanism. It isn’t often that a manual features at all in 2026, let alone made into a piece of interior sculpture. Good on you, Spyker.

Speaking of sculpture, the exterior of the Spyker is still made from aluminium (rather than carbon), because it can be hand-formed. In fact, the C8 Preliator XXV features exterior panels crafted by Coventry Prototype Panels. Underneath sits a Spyker spaceframe, once more with aerospace influence, assembled from an ‘isogrid lattice of interlocking triangles’. Expect it to be strong and light, then, capable of handling all that 800hp can throw at it. And don’t forget time consuming: Spyker suggests each Preliator will take 2100 hours to assemble. Even the screw heads in the interior ‘aligned by hand to face the same direction, a detail no owner will likely ever notice, which is precisely the point.’ So you can bet the really important stuff has been laboured over.

This Quail Green over Tuscan Saddle creation, of which 25 are to be made, is just the start as far as the Spyker reinvention goes. Now with fresh investment from the W Group, there are plans afoot for a GT3 racing return, another D8 Peaking To Paris SUV as well as ‘new digital and client experiences’. Potentially tricky to make an impact in such a crowded supercar space at the moment, but then arguably all these things wouldn’t currently exist without the demand to support them. You’d hope. Certainly there’s nothing quite like a Spyker in 2026, as was always the appeal.

Volodymyr Nosov, Co-owner of Spyker as well Founder and President of W Group, said, “We are bringing together more than a century of Spyker’s automotive heritage with W Group’s technological expertise, ambition and forward-looking mindset. Our goal was never simply to bring a legendary name back. We want to build the next era of Spyker, preserving everything that makes the marque iconic while opening it to new technologies, new experiences and a new generation of clients. The C8 Preliator XXV Coupé is the first statement of that ambition. And this is only the beginning.” Sounds like there’s more to follow in this new Spyker era, then. Keep the manual and you keep the customers seems to be the way right now…

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Emmbee1964

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