“Hang on! Holland isn’t a British colony!” our readers in the lowlands cry, but in a Dutch accent, obviously. Overlooking the Duke of York’s unsuccessful invasion of Northern Holland in 1799 (mocked in the song ‘The Grand old Duke of York’) they would be correct. There is, however, a distinctly British influence at Dutch Supercar manufacturer Spyker, who I visited for MotorPunk recently.
\r\n\r\nSpyker were rebuilding their production facility after an aborted move to Coventry but there were a few cars in production and some interesting stuff to be seen, including the original Spyker prototype, when I called in for a coffee and chat. The reason for the move is related to their relationship with Coventry Prototype Panels (CPP) who produce the lovely aluminium panels that clad the chassis. The Spyker C8 Aileron’s rear wings and valance are all one huge aluminium panel.\r\nThe prototype Spyker was there, with some odd angles and peculiar features that didn’t make production, such as long wing mirrors made from a single aluminium sheet. Metal-bashing skill like this is hard to find on the continent, and there’s a certain irony about such a beautiful product being handcrafted in the ugly end of the English Midlands. Spyker offer an option of riveted panels, which might be technically archaic and rather expensive, but look fabulous. Their motto, applied everywhere, is “Nulla tenaci invia est via” meaning “For the tenacious no road is impassable”. A motto applying only to those who haven’t driven on the A14. \r\n\r\nSpyker Aileron suspension bits are surprisingly Evora-y; Lotus Engineering have clearly had their fingers in here, which can only be a good thing. The engine cover looks like a tangerine tagine. Underneath is a 4.2 litre Audi-sourced V8 with 400BHP; transmission is stirred with a manual gearlever with open linkages in the cabin. Snickety! Spyker want driver involvement via beautiful and tactile controls. Leather is of a type usually used in furniture, not vehicles, all thickly quilted. Toggle switches are everywhere, with no nasty plastic to be seen, and lots and lots of turned and brushed aluminium. The nice man at Spyker encouraged me to handle everything; the machined metal toggle switches felt perfect in my fingers but I felt rather awkward as he egged me on, it felt like he was asking me to re-tune his