2006 Spyker C8 Test Drive

Going Dutch

We take a wild ride in an obscure $250,000 Dutch supercar soon to make a splash in America.

Dutch supercar manufacturer Spyker joins Bentley, Lamborghini and Ferrari as one of the world's most coveted automotive brands. 

Less than 10 2005 C8 Spyders are currently in the hands of wealthy American auto enthusiasts — only 14 total were built in the first half of 2005. These rear-wheel drive, mid-engine, hand-built exotic cars can easily top $250,000, depending on the level of customization.

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The 2006 C8 Spyder and C8 Laviolette — a closed-roof version of the Spyder — make 400 horsepower while a Spyder T variant puts out 525 hp. A longer and wider C8, called the Double 12 S, is designed for racing, has a fixed roof, the 400-hp engine and should be on sale in the U.S. by spring 2006.

Also arriving around that time is a new model called the C12 La Turbie featuring Audi's potent 12-cylinder engine (W12) in the extended Double 12 chassis. 

A high-performance "super sport utility vehicle," called the D12 Paris-to-Peking, debuted at the 2006 Geneva auto show and will compete with Porsche's Cayenne.

Previously shuttered in 1925, the 60-employee company based in Zeewolde, Holland was resurrected in 2000 by Dutch tycoon Victor Muller, Spyker chief executive.

Although obscure in the United States, Spyker is set to make a splash thanks to some deft product placement in the recently released film Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction, in which Sharon Stone's lead character Catherine Tremell drives a C8 Laviolette.