Few onlookers had ever heard of Spyker, let alone seen the C8 Spyder, Laviolette or Peking-to-Paris. And Pebble Beach is more than just an auto show to newcomer Iconic Motors. This high-profile event was only the fourth time its namesake GTR Roadster had ever been shown.
These hot rides may not have been the main attraction of the weekend, but even to showgoers who had pretty much seen it all, a handful of sculpted roadsters screamed: gentlemen, start your engines.
Starting at $235,000, radio not included
Better known for its short-lived Formula One career than its heritage of building record-breaking cars, Spyker is eager to tell its story.
Spyker may not be the first name that comes to mind when you think of high-performance premium cars, but it's one of the oldest names in the business. The company got its start as a coachbuilder, and could count Dutch royalty among its best clients. It built a reputation for crafting advanced engineered automobiles, broke several records along the way, including the endurance record in 1921, and even tried its hand at manufacturing aircraft during World War I.
But the company folded in 1925. Three-quarters of a century later, Dutch entrepreneur Victor Mueller revived the brand. His goal: to build a compact sports car that was unlike anything else on the road.
When Muller put pen to paper, the result was the Spyker C8, a midengine roadster with a lightweight aluminum body that’s as curvy as it is well-crafted. It’s a design that’s proving successful and attracting quite a following.
Most of Spyker’s customers are entrepreneurs who already have a collection of high-end sports cars and are branching out into other exotics. It’s rumored that Jennifer Lopez is an enthusiastic customer. Another customer is an avid collector with more than 1,100 vehicles.
“They don’t have to ask for permission to drive,” Vinny Russo, dealer relations manager, says of the Spyker customer base, suggesting that spousal concern or approval is rendered irrelevant when you reach some indeterminate amount of wealth.
And hopefully they don’t have to ask for permission to buy the $235,000 vehicles. And that’s just to start.
So what does nearly a quarter million buy from Spyker?
Keep in mind that a Spyker is designed to be a true driver's car. That means no radio, no heated seats, and you can forget about cupholders. The brakes are electronic but not hydraulic, and in case you were wondering, there’s no traction control.
But what you do get is an all-aluminum body that’s hand-assembled at the Karmann plant in Germany, with finishing touches in the Netherlands, and an Audi V8 engine with a few tweaks to bring the horsepower to 400. It’s not the fastest car in its class, but it’s fast enough, launching from 0-60 in 4.5 seconds and with a top speed of 187 mph.
Do you really need more?
What sells this car isn’t the horsepower, it’s the legacy, design and spirit. The interior is a throwback to the old days of automobile manufacturing with a modern twist, giving buyers a new car with a vintage feel.
The bucket seats are covered in quilted leather. The dash is lined with turned aluminum and the instrument dials are inspired by watch faces. But who wants a knock-off when you can have the real thing? For $8,500 more, Spyker will outfit the instrument dials with synthetic quartz.
While Spyker is heavily entrenched in the racing circuits and competes in GT2 and Le Mans, form is as important as function. The C8 Spyder features a frameless windshield, which gives it the appearance of a “glass to the sky,” and the two-piece window in the Laviolette is a throwback to the brand’s aeronautical roots.
Though Spyker didn’t want to waste resources designing a new engine, it's developed it's own exhaust system. The Ridgeback-like intake for the Laviolette catches the eye, and equally noteworthy is the exposed linkage gear-shifter, which leads most people to ask: “What is that?” However, Russo says paddle shifters are coming for 2009 models.
The interior is understated and spare. The car wasn’t designed with a sound system, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have one. One of the benefits of a hand-built car is that you can customize anything, says Russo.
But one of the standard features is a switch that cuts the exhaust and enables the car to operate in “whisper mode.” It’s a useful tool for answering a phone call, but since the raw engine sound is one of the reasons you buy a C8, it’s hardly a feature to brag about. And this car is meant for serious driving, so the mobile phone is best left at home.
Devil in the details
Spyker isn’t alone in the custom car business. A stone’s throw from its tent, Claudio Ballard is beaming like a proud parent and answering phone calls and gawkers' questions in multiple languages without missing a beat.
A heavyset man who made his fortune in patents, Ballard set his sights on reviving American automotive glory days. He has a single goal: to build an outstanding, world-class vehicle.
By design alone, Ballard may have succeeded. Spectators peered over the red velvet ropes keeping the well-heeled masses from leaving smudges on the ruby paint job and polished chrome.
Most bespoke car manufacturers hail from England. But Ballard wants you to know that Europeans haven’t cornered the market on high-end cars. Domestic grease monkeys are just as adept at turning a wrench as their foreign counterparts, and Ballard envisions Iconic elevating U.S. automobile production to an art form.
Ballard penned the initial design borrowing heavily from 50s' and 60s' European roadsters. The car is, by all means, gorgeous. Rattle down the specs, including more than 800 horsepower, a 2.75 power-to-weight ratio, and a 0-60 of 2.8 seconds, and it’s downright impressive. But when you hear the $650,000 price tag, you wouldn’t be blamed for wondering what makes this car worth it.
It’s the craftsmanship, explains Iconic spokesman Fred Bloom.
“Nothing is shared or off-the-shelf, and everything is custom,” he says. If you learn nothing else about the car, Bloom wants you to understand that the car is designed and built from the ground up in the US.
The powerlifted clam shell hood is open to reveal the 7.0L engine designed by famed NASCAR engine builder, Ernie Elliott. It doesn’t get more American than that.
But it’s not just American metal that makes this car special. Everything in the Iconic GTR Roadster has a story.
The instrument dials are synthetic sapphire crystal. No switches, latches or anything protrude from the car to detract from the clean lines. Blum points out that the gas cap is flush with the car –- a feat apparently hard to appreciate –- and emphasizes that even the rear-view mirror is built into the frame.
Ballard’s got plenty of company in the custom car market, but unlike some competitors, he’s by no means a purist. The Iconic GTR Roadster is a marriage between vintage European design and American technological innovation.
Example: It may be the only car on the market that you start with your iPhone.
While it’s true that keys are becoming obsolete in the era of push-button starts (and keys are just one more thing to keep track of and potentially ruin the line of undoubtedly equally bespoke clothing), it’ll make handing the car to the valet a bit more difficult.
But no worries! If you lose your phone or the battery dies, you can still start the car the way grandpa used to – with the key. Which begs the question, then what’s the point?
It’s a lesson in pushing the envelope.
“Technology will lead you to get more horsepower,” says Blum, referring to Iconic’s ability to turn out 800-horsepower from a V8 engine.
And in the spirit of throwing everything in including the kitchen sink, Blum is proud to point out that instead of just a navigation system and jukebox, the GTR Roadster sports an entire computer that logs and displays everything with the car.
While Ballard has succeeded in executing his vision, it’s too early to tell if hand-built custom-everything is a recipe for success in the automobile industry. It seems more like a competition to design the most sartorial production car in the same way chefs compete to create the most expensive hamburger.
Though it’s easy to joke that the best way to make a small fortune in the automotive industry is to start with a large one, it’s still a badge few people can wear.
Even Muller has to defend his short venture into the money-draining Formula One circuit, and without prompting brags, “At least we tried.”
And when it comes to cars, it’s pretty much all about bragging rights. How many car buyers can say they met the men who designed their car?
Mainstream exotics may have more name-recognition, but you probably won’t be brushing elbows with Enzo Ferrari or Ferruccio Lamborghini anytime soon. Part of the allure of these high-end cars is getting to meet the men behind the mark.
That’s definitely something to brag about.
