Spyker cars

2015 Spyker B6 Venator Spyder

At the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, Spyker announced its global resurgence with the unveiling of the B6 Venator - a concept car that previews a future Porsche 911 competitor set to be unveiled in early 2014. The concept we saw in Switzerland was shown only as a coupe, but it looks like a roadster version will also be offered.

The announcement was made by Spyker in an official document revealing the company’s financial situation. Talking about the new B6 Venator, Spyker said: "The response has been very positive and we are confident that we will be able to build a strong order book for the B6 Venator. We intend to launch the Spyder (open) version of the B6 Venator later this year."

We expect the Spyder version to look nearly identical to the coupe version, except of course its soft top.

*Image Note: The above image is of the B6 Venator Coupe Concept, not the Spyder version.

Click past the jump to read more about the B6 Venator Coupe version.

Spyker Prepares a Crossover For 2016

Spyker announced that its new B6 Venator Concept, which was unveiled at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, is just the first step the company has made into its global resurgence. The company has plans to unveil a concept crossover model next year, with a production version to arrive later in 2016.

The new crossover will be based on the D8 Paris-to-Peking crossover, which was unveiled at the 2006 Geneva Motor Show, but it will be less extravagant, while still retaining Spyker’s reputation for exclusivity.

The same Spyker officials also confirmed that a production version of the B6 Venator Concept will be put on sale on the U.S. market in the spring of 2014 at a price somewhere from $125,000 to $150,000.

Once these changes are made, the company’s lineup will include three different models: the current C8 Aileron, the upcoming B6 Venator and the upcoming crossover. Once all three models are put on sale, the company hopes to sell around 2,500 units a year - up from the current 350 units.

2015 Spyker B6 Venator Concept

A few weeks ago it was rumored that Spyker would unveil a Porsche 911 competitor at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. Now, it really happened, as Spyker is celebrating its global resurgence with the unveiling of the B6 Venator - a concept car that will go into production in early 2014 in markets like Europe or Asia, and will arrive in the U.S. in the autumn of 2014.

The new B6 Venator Concept will feature design elements we usually see in all Spyker models, like the V-shaped radiator grille, the aerodynamically shaped glass aircraft canopy and the 3D LED rear lights. The concept will be offered with 19-inch TurbofanTM wheels featuring a mirror-like finish.

On the interior, it combines the finest materials out there, like the Litano leather produced by Royal Hulshof Dutch Tanneries in Lichtenvoorde. The concept’s cockpit has been inspired by an airplane and this is evident by the dashboard that lights up as part of the "pre-flight check."

Under the hood, Spyker installed a V-6 engine that delivers about 375 horsepower and is mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission.

We’ll bring you more information, as Spyker releases it.

Possible Leaked Info on the Spyker B6 Concept

In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal, Spyker chief, Victor Muller, let some information on the hotly anticipated B6 Concept slip out. According to the report, the car’s full name is the B6 Venator, which means “hunter” in Latin, and it will not quite be the monstrous 911 killer that we all thought – it does have the potential to be, though.

The report indicates that under the hood, this B6 Venator will carry a mid-mounted V-6 engine with about 375 horsepower and the engine will mate to a six-speed automatic transmission. This near-400-pony engine will sit in a sleek-bodied car with a Lotus Evora S-like appearance that features a carbon-fiber body and an aluminum frame, allowing it to weigh in at a svelte 3,080 pounds. This will give it a stout weight-to-power ratio of 8.21 pounds per horsepower. This gives it a slight advantage over the 2013 911 Carrera, which comes in at 8.64 pounds per horsepower. That’s all well and good, but we all know that pounds per horsepower aren’t all that matters in this crazy automotive game.

Also according to the report, the B6 will come in at €125,000 to €150,000 (roughly $163,000 to $195,000 at the current exchange rates) and it will have a production limited to a few hundred models. Also released was the above image, which was not confirmed as the B6, but certainly looks like the description Muller gave the WSJ.

Keep in mind, that this is all a report from a non-automotive publication, so there could have been some misinterpretations. We’ll find out for sure at the Geneva show.

Spyker May Unveil a Porsche 911 Competitor in Geneva

In the past two years Spyker has skipped one of the most important auto show: Geneva Motor Show. A recent interview with Spyker Boss, Victor Muller, suggests that the company has prepared something big for the 2013 Geneva Auto show. Muller said in the interview with Telegraaf "Ik zeg niets, anders dan dat het je zal verrassen," which loosely translates to "I say nothing, other than that it will surprise you."

Rumors have been circulating the automotive realm about Spyker developing a 911 rival, but nothing has ever been confirmed. Could this big surprise be that rumor coming true? Well, let’s hope so!

Sources suggest that this rumored sports coupe will be the smallest and cheapest model in the company’s lineup, but it will be easily identified as a Spyker model.

It seems that in the past few months it’s been a popular trend to announce models that will target Porsches. The latest one comes from Caterham, which will target the Cayman.

Full details on Spyker’s new model will be unveiled during its official debut in Geneva. Stay tuned!

Saab Deal Finalized: No Griffin, but There May Be Duplicate Phoenixes

We all knew that the Saab deal was done, in principle, but all of the final details were still being hammered out. A big sticking point was the fact that Saab’s new owner, NEVS, wanted the rights to use the “Saab” name, but needed approval from Saab AB.

As expected, that is now all in the past, as NEVS and Saab AB have reached an agreement to allow NEVS licensed usage of the famed name. However, NEVS was not able to procure a license to use the half-lion, half-bird Griffin emblem that Saab was also famous for. This means all new Saab vehicles will either have a new emblem or just a decal that reads “Saab.”

A strange development in this that has almost fallen through the cracks is the fact that NEVS has also secured the intellectual property rights to the aborted Phoenix platform. The odd thing about that is that Youngman just entered a deal with Spyker to manufacture a car based on the Phoenix platform, which Youngman purchased the license to use back when Saab first went under. This means that there may be two cars running around in China bearing almost identical styles, but different names and completely different drivetrains. Strange...

What would be even more odd in this dysfunctional triangle would be if NEVS contracts Spyker and Youngman to manufacture the Phoenix to attempt to save a little production cost. That’s highly unlikely of a situation, as NEVS also secured all of Saab’s tools and its extremely high-tech Trollhattan plant and testing labs.

Get your popcorn ready for this one, we smell a lawsuit coming up at some point...

Click past the jump to read NEVS’s press release.

Youngman Finally Finds a Partner in Spyker

We seriously lost count of how many times Youngman was blocked while trying to purchase Saab before it was finally awarded to a lower, but more “suitable” bidder. Finally, after numerous swings and misses, Youngman has found a suitable partner in its automobile-manufacturing venture. Ironically, it is with the company he was originally blocked from buying Saab from, Spyker.

Spyker and Youngman have just inked a framework deal that assigns 29.9 percent of Spyker’s stock to Youngman. In turn, Youngman will pay €10,000,000. Of the initial investment, €6.7 million will be used to pay for the 29.9 percent ownership, while the remaining €3.3 million will act as a shareholder loan. The entire deal should be completed within 45 days of the signing of the deal, as that is the time frame that Youngman has to pay the deal in full.

In this deal, the two companies will form a joint venture called Spyker P2P B.V. (Spyker P2P) Youngman will contribute an additional €25 million to this venture and take 75 percent share hold in it. Spyker’s 25 percent share hold comes in the form of technological contributions. Spyker P2P will use this technology to develop the Spyker D8 Peking-to-Paris super sports utility vehicle (SSUV). The $250,000 SSUV is set to launch in 2014 and Spyker P2P B.V. will use its technology to help launch additional models.

A second joint venture, dubbed the Spyker Phoenix, will see Youngman contribute the Phoenix platform technology that he bought from Saab and fund 100 percent of the venture. This will net Youngman an 80 percent share hold on the Phoenix and give Spyker 20 percent — we assume this share is for Spyker manufacturing the car.

This is certainly a great big mess of numbers, but essentially, Youngman is giving Spyker a ton of money and Spyker is providing its technology on one vehicle and, we assume, the manufacture of the other vehicle to gain minority share in said vehicles.

We’ll keep a close eye on this one and let you know if it actually ever pans out or simply fizzles away.

Click past the jump to read the full press release.

Spyker Sues GM; Where will the C8’s engine come from now?

So Spyker was all set up to have a bad-ass new engine for its C8 Aileron, a 6.2-liter LSA V-8 from General Motors. This is the same plant that you’ll find under the nose of a Corvette ZR-1 and Cadillac CTS-V. Now, Spyker is suing GM for $3 billion over its blocking Spyker from selling Saab to Youngman Lotus, thereby sending Spyker into bankruptcy. Yeah, that will end any relationship these two had.

So, with Spyker likely left with no engine supplier for the C8 Aileron, we need to take a look and at where exactly it can dig up some ponies to try and pull a profit. Let’s have a look at potential suitors and what they have to offer.

Before we start, we have to keep in mind a few rules here. Spyker can’t just run off and ask other boutique automakers, like Aston Martin and Jaguar, to borrow an engine for a car that will compete with them. It needs to find one from a supplier that just wants its name out there in a supercar.

Click past the the jump to read our full list of possible suitors.

Spyker looking for additional investors for future survival

The past few months haven’t been easy for Spyker. After ending its affiliations with Saab, and changing its name back from Swedish Automobile to Spyker, the company fell on hard times. CEO Victor Muller confirmed a few months ago that investors were needed and once found, production could substantially increase.

Unfortunately, those investors never materialized and, as a result, the economic viability of Spyker has continued on its downward spiral. Spyker was recently in serious investment talks with CPP Global Holdings and North Street Capital, but both firms have gone quiet in the past few months and Spyker’s future is looking very bleak yet again.

De Telegraaf recently reported that Spyker Cars posted a net profit of $154 million in just the first 6 months of the year and consequently, one would think that finding a large investor would be a walk in the park. Unfortunately, that’s not the case.

In saying that, however, Victor Muller’s statement that the company is “virtually debt free” doesn’t leave us with a great deal of confidence, as it’s clear that the firm’s undisclosed debt levels are dissuading investors from picking up the exclusive marque.

Despite this news, production of the Spyker C8 Aileron continues albeit at a slower pace.

Spyker preparing to increase production substantially over coming years

We’re all familiar with the Spyker name, so much so that we’re under the impression that the tiny company actually produced at least 50 units annually. However, the company’s CEO Victor Muller recently confirmed that Spyker only produced 12 new cars in 2011, a figure very similar to the amount of cars which Pagani produced in the same time period.

However, Muller isn’t going to let those relatively unimpressive numbers dissuade him, as he wants the company to continue to grow in the coming years and with Saab now completely split from Spyker, it’s the perfect time for Muller to look into strategies to expand the company.

Unfortunately, Spyker’s failed attempt to acquire Saab did affect their car production to such an extent that production has pretty much skidded to a stop. Consequently, Muller is currently looking for an investment of $32 million to restart production, and if all goes well Muller hopes that Spyker can produce upwards of 1,000 cars annually in the coming years.

If Spyker does manage to find this much required investment, then its model line could also be increased to accommodate the 2006 D12 Peking-To-Paris SUV Concept and with luxury SUVs seemingly being the talk of the town recently, the company could be onto a winner if it does put the D12 into production.

The biggest thing standing in the way of Muller achieving these aims may be his inability to receive the necessary funds. Unsurprisingly, after his failed attempt to run Saab and failed attempt to run his own Formula 1 team, firms are understandably apprehensive about whether or not he can deliver on his claims.