...all you need to know about Spyker.
Born: 1900 Nationality: Dutch
Set up by Amsterdam coachbuilder Jacobus Spijker and his brother in 1900, Spyker is one of the Netherlands' two car makers - the other being DAF. Two years earlier, they built their first car with a Benz engine.
In 1902 they designed the first purpose- built six-cylinder 4WD racing car, a 60hp 8.7-litre. That car also had a centre differential and four-wheel brakes - very innovative for the time. It won the 1906 Birmingham hill-climb. The car, a one-off, is now at the Dutch national car museum.
Most of Spyker's production between 1904 and 1906 was exported to Britain. The marque's name was based on luxury and high performance. Early Spykers are distinguished by their circular radiators.
In the 1907 "Great Race" from Peking to Paris, a 15hp Spyker came second. It was driven by a Dutch fairground roustabout who borrowed the car - and, it's said, much fuel from other competitors during the 81-day race. A dispute with his sponsors stopped him at Berlin and the car was driven on to Paris by a Spyker company driver. The winner, a 40hp Itala driven by Prince Borghese, had arrived in Paris 20 days earlier.
In 1910, one Stanley Roberts of Peckham, London, opened a driving school. His first car being a Spyker. That school is today the BSM School of Motoring, owned by the RAC.
During the first World War, production was switched to fighter aircraft and aircraft engines. It resumed building cars in 1919 and Spykers enjoyed much success with royalty of the time. A Latin slogan was introduced on the grille: "Nulla tenaci invia est via" - for the tenacious, no road is impassable.
A C4 model, with an engine designed by the celebrated engineer Karl Maybach, was seen as " the Rolls-Royce of the Continent". In 1922, one of these showed that it wasn't just pretty - it set a "double-twelve" speed record at Brooklands of 119 km/h.
Despite its achievements, the last of the original Spykers were built in 1925, and the company then ceased trading. Movie buffs will remember the Spyker driven by actor Kenneth More in Genevieve (1953).
In 2000, the brand was revived by Victor Muller and Maarten De Bruijn, who had designed and built a prototype in the 1990s. The C8 Spyker Spyder was revealed at the Birmingham Motor Show - it also won the 2000 award for engineering excellence of the Institute of Vehicle Engineers in the specialist low-volume manufacturers category.
A second model appeared four months later. The C8 Laviolette (left) was an elegant coupé with glass canopy powered by an Audi V8 engine with 450 hp. It can do the 0-100 km/h in 4.2 seconds thanks to its lightweight aluminium space frame clad with aluminium panels. Weight is just 1,000kg.
In September 2001 the Spyker C8 Double 12 R was revealed at Frankfurt, completing the current range. In 2002 Spyker Squadron's Spyker C8 Double 12R claimed 6th place in the GT Class at Le Mans. Last year it finished 10th in its class in the race.
Spyker will only ever be a very limited brand, with just 16 cars produced last year and an estimated 45 to 50 on the stocks for this year. All are pre-sold. Features include electrically operated single-point tilting doors and stainless-steel suspension. Each Spyker is made to measure for its customer. Last month, Spyker Cars NV applied for listing on the Amsterdam Euro.NM exchange.
BEST CAR: The C4 of 1922 (old) and the C8 Double 12R of 2002 (modern).
WORST CAR: We never heard of it.
WEIRDEST CAR: Some would say that same C8 Double 12R, because in racing trim it is something of an ugly duckling. ... - Brian Byrne