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.

Performance

Fresh from a marketing trip to the Middle East, Hans Van Rennes, manager of the Spyker Squadron race team and former Porsche driving school instructor, gave us a hair-raising test drive in the company's sole demonstration vehicle — a midnight blue C8 Spyder.  

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He presses the key fob and the C8’s doors scissor skyward. We slide over the wide sills and strap in. Like a fighter pilot preparing for takeoff, Van Rennes flicks the red cover off of a dash-mounted toggle switch, clicks it and pushes the starter button. The 400-hp Audi V8 erupts into a raspy un-Audi-like sound, fading to a muted burble.

Clutch pedal to the floor, gearshift into first gear, he stomps the throttle, cranking up a race-car soundtrack. All you can do is laugh, shoved firmly into the leather seatback. The lush fields and modern windmill farms lining roads around Spyker's Zeewolde, Holland factory quickly become a blur as we hit 60 miles per hour in 4.5 seconds, pausing only for upshifts on our way to well over 100 mph.

Van Rennes deftly works the clutch and gas pedals, with expertly timed throttle blips on downshifts. He stabs the brakes on the approach to a traffic circle and we lunge forward against our seatbelts. 

U.S.-spec cars are quieter, says Van Rennes as he flicks the C8 back and forth on an open two-lane highway to demonstrate the low center of gravity and Herculean stability. Unless under full throttle, C8s sold Stateside send engine exhaust through a more circuitous network of pipes to mute engine noise and reduce emissions in compliance with Federal regulations.

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Flashing a grin during another breathless surge of acceleration, Hans says that removing the U.S.-spec exhaust valve to unleash full acoustic fury is a quick and easy job. 

We had a few glorious minutes behind the wheel of the C8 and found it impressively benign at legal speeds. The car imparts an enormous sense of solidity. Steering is accurate and light, the brakes firm and progressive. A hyper-sensitive throttle and heavy clutch were tricky to operate.

Though we didn't get a chance to test it out, the adjustable suspension can be optimized for serious track duty, leisurely highway cruising and anything in between.

With production gearing up at German manufacturer Karmann, which will build the C8 bodies, the company aims to increase production to keep pace with a C8 waiting list that has more than doubled from 70 to 150.

Spyker hopes that deft brand-building — such as product placement in Basic Instinct 2 — will inspire sufficient envy and lust among the masses to make these Dutch Ferrari-fighters desirable enough for those who can afford a C8 to actually buy one.