Spyker to introduce new B6 Venator at Geneva Auto Show

[nordwulf]

Spyker will introduce a new car that will compete with the Porsche 911, according to the Dutch car magazine Autovisie in an interview with Victor Muller. There will be press conference at the Geneva Auto Show in the beginning of March. Muller didn't provide any additional information.

It wasn't mentioned if it will be a (Saab) Phoenix-based car developed together with Youngman or when the new Spyker will be added to the Spyker line-up.

Spyker was not at the most recent two shows in Geneva because of the Saab bankruptcy. They sorted out the problems with the shutdown of the British coachbuilder and moved all tools and jigs to Zeewolde. Production will be started again soon.

Google Translate

[nordwulf]

From an email I received:

Victor Muller, CEO of Spyker NV is delighted to share with you news of the brand’s global resurgence! The Spyker B6 concept car will make its debut on 5 March at the 2013 Geneva International Motor Show. Stay tuned for more details.

[Shazam]

​I'm excited!

[Abarth]

OHHHHH BOY!

[nordwulf]

And here it is.. from the Wall Street Journal.



In 2012, Mr. Muller said in a recent interview, the company restructured its debt and cut deals with suppliers, bringing the company a €125 million net profit that moved it slightly into "positive equity territory," even though production of the company's singular C8 Aileron sports car almost ground to a halt. These are rather magic beans. Nonetheless, armed with a €10 million stake from Chinese heavy-vehicle maker Youngman—which was also party to the Saab deal—Spyker Cars is staged for its "resurgence": the world premiere of the B6 Venator Concept at the Geneva Motor Show, Tuesday.

Venator is Latin for "hunter." Mr. Muller explained that in World War I, the Dutch called fighter planes "hunters" (the historic Spyker company built strut-and-canvas warplanes and grand touring cars). The B6 Venator, in brief: midengine, 375-horsepower V6; six-speed automatic transmission; aluminum chassis, carbon-fiber body; under 3,080 pounds. That's a weight-to-power ratio of 8.21 pounds per horsepower (a little better than the Porsche 911 Carrera's) in a footprint the size of a Porsche Boxster. But "anybody who says they're going to build a Porsche killer is crazy," Mr. Muller emphasized.

The Venator also bears a striking resemblance, in profile and in specification, to the Toyota-powered Lotus Evora S, though Mr. Muller declined to specify his powertrain supplier. Mr. Muller says he played the role of designer, and the Venator, he promises, will have all the piquant details of Spyker's previous cars, an aesthetic evoking an era of silk scarves and aerial chivalry: the machine-turned aluminum dash; the exposed gearshift mechanism; the rich, quilted leather. The italicized script logo on the Venator's grille is a reproduction of the company's 1903 logo.

The B6 Venator will be priced between €125,000 and €150,000, said Mr. Muller. He anticipates production numbers "in the hundreds."

Meanwhile, Spyker and Youngman have signed a joint-venture agreement to develop Spyker's P2P, the Peking-to-Paris super-sport-utility vehicle first seen at the 2006 Geneva show. And Spyker and Youngman will form a new company called Spyker Phoenix to build a premium vehicle based on Saab's Phoenix platform.

2013 Lamborghini Aventador Roadster Review: For the Tall Driver in a Huge Hurry | Rumble Seat by Dan Neil - WSJ.com

[nordwulf]

I actually quite like the design except for the big grille opening. Definitely something different but I wouldn't expect anythng less from Spyker.