This
is the interior of the Spyker C8 Laviolette, luxurious yet racy with lots of
aluminum and leather. The steering wheel has a propeller design (called
"Aeroblade") reminiscent of the Spyker logo; the same styling is
applied to the wheel rims of the car. Though the concept of and target group for the C8 Laviolette are
quite different from those of the original Spyker cars, there are also quite a
number of similarities: the elaborate engineering, the innovative thinking and,
not in last place, the exorbitant price. Indications suggest a price surpassing
that of Aston Martins, Ferraris and even Lamborghinis. Which introduces another
typical Spyker feature: extremely limited production. Even
though the prototype was a coupe, the first production car the new Spyker
company presented was a roadster. The Spyker C8 Spyder was introduced in October
2000 at the Birmingham Motorshow in England. Surprisingly it was a tremendous
success; it won an award for Engineering Excellence in the Specialist Low Volume
Manufacturers category and quite a number of orders were placed. Another
reason for introducing it in England, besides the soft spot the British have for
exotic vehicles, was the strong British participation in the model. Most of it
was made by Coventry Prototyping & Panels in England, of course under
supervision of Maarten de Bruijn. Also a number of engineering tasks have been
carried out by a collection of British specialist firms. The name "Spyder" for the roadster model has little to
do with Spyker history. It's just an attractive name for this body style,
normally used by Italian manufacturers. Originally the word was an Italian
designation for a light, open two-seater carriage. From
the rear the Spyder looks most attractive. The polished metal details and
air-intakes catch the eye and are tastefully combined with the "agate
grey" paintwork. The low, almost horizontal lines give the car a racy
appearance and the "gills" behind the rear wheels are very
distinctive. But what impressed me most was the professional and appealing
presentation of both the Spyder and the Laviolette coupe, a lot of time and
effort must have gone into that as well. |
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