Spyker Reasserts Its Beauty from the Inside Out

Koenigsegg and Bugatti and Rimac and all those other hypercar companies can unleash as much power as they want … but as long as Spyker is around, aerodynamics and pure speed don’t win my heart. Exposed gearshifts do.

The “as long as Spyker is around” part of that is a legitimate “if,” because the automaker from of the Netherlands has been in and out of good financial standing the past few years. After accepting it was broke voluntarily restructuring and no sales in the past three years, Spyker returned to the scene in Geneva with a new car, the C8 Preliator.

Of course, that’s not just some weird plucked out of nowhere. Preliator means “fighter” or “warrior” in latin, a nod to Fighter warplanes built by Spyker between 1914 and 1918. Plus, you know, symbolism and staying alive and such.

The Preliator, which replaces the C8 Aileron (admittedly one of my personal dream cars), supposedly highlights submerged air intakes, or NACA ducts, after the first-gen cars incorporated propellers and the second-gen cars were inspired by turbines.

Performance-wise, the chassis is made entirely of aluminum. The suspension is from Lotus. The engine is an Audi-sourced 4.2-liter V8 that puts out 525 bhp. That can be paired with either a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed auto. Both of these are exposed, so that obviously makes the car super duper fast and cool and awesome. It can jump to 62 from a standstill in 3.7 seconds and maxes out at 201 mph.

WANT.