Spyker, creator of meticulously hand-built sports cars since 2000, proudly unveiled its third-generation sports car – the 2022 Spyker C8 Preliator. The “Preliator” name, which means “fighter” or “warrior” in latin, pays tribute to that aviation heritage: “Fighters” are warplanes as made by Spyker between 1914 and 1918. But even more so, “Preliator” symbolises the uphill battles Spyker faced and won in the past couple of years. The 2-door mid-engine sports car will offer the discerning driver of the highest standards a new choice, delivering a rare combination of heritage, design, craftsmanship, performance and exclusivity. With sleek aerodynamics, a long GT-wheelbase, luxurious and spacious cabin and world-class drivetrain, the new C8 Preliator has broadened the appeal of the Spyker brand while maintaining the marque’s exclusivity. Highly detailed design, bespoke materials and aviation-inspired elements are a core part of the Spyker DNA. Spyker’s third-generation sports car features design cues from jet propulsion aircraft, highlighting the turbine blade, NACA duct air inlets and little wings, ailerons, to improve the car’s aerodynamic performance.
The Spyker C8 Preliator’s design represents the ultimate translation of our aviation heritage to a “road jet”, a plane without wings, reflected among others in the Head-Up Display, fitted as standard to every car. It is the epitome of our unrivaled craftsmanship. By mounting a supercharger to the Audi V8 engine we have improved the performance of the Spyker C8 Preliator significantly as compared to its predecessor and its exclusivity is warranted since we will produce a mere 50 units. The Spyker C8 Preliator is made for discerning owners who appreciate the attention to detail and bespoke features Spyker have offered them for over a decade and a half now. Spyker dedicated crew will assemble the first cars in Coventry, UK, together with CPP Metalcraft, very first partner since they started Spyker back in 2000, as of the last quarter of 2016. The Spyker C8 Preliator’s contemporary design is even more heavily inspired by Spyker’s aviation heritage than any of our previous models with a clear emphasis on the typical aircraft air intakes, the so-called NACA ducts, and represents the latest evolution of Spyker’s signature architecture.
The Spyker C8 Preliator has more interior space, which results in a higher comfort level and improved ergonomics. The interior, with its typical Spyker attention to detail, is made of the highest quality leather available in the market. The leather interior is available in 14 standard colours, but any other colour – if desired by the customer – can be ordered as an option. The car on display has a Saddle interior with white honeycomb stitching (matching the mesh in the grille) and an ivory leather headlining. The dashboard was redesigned to suit the new exterior design and to improve ergonomics and functionality. Air vents are designed in turbine style and the performance and distribution of the air conditioning was improved significantly. A multifunctional Head-Up Display is integrated and placed atop the dash board. Machined Chronoswiss dials and switches are available as an option.
Brakes are supplied by AP Racing, a partner from day one. Black brake calipers with Spyker script are standard. Colour-coded calipers with Spyker script can be ordered as an option. The car on display has Satin Gold calipers which match the air box. Carbon ceramic brakes will be available as an option. The C8 Preliator is fitted with a Lotus front and rear independent double-wishbone suspension system. This suspension system includes a new kinematic layout of the front and rear suspension, front and rear stabilizer bars, mono-tube dampers, coil over damper steel springs, anti-dive and anti- squat setup for improved handling properties. The suspension components are made of forged aluminium where possible, to keep the vehicle’s unsprung weight as low as possible. Shock absorbers are placed vertically within the wishbones. The Preliator has newly-designed 19-inch alloy Turbofan™ wheels as standard. These wheels are inspired by the turbine blades of a jet engine, which hints at Spyker’s aviation heritage. The Michelin 235/35 size tyres at the front and up to 295/30 at the rear provide the necessary road holding.
The Spyker C8 Preliator’s all-aluminium space frame composed of extrusions and folded sheet aluminium and extruded aluminium side-impact bars and integral rollover bars was redesigned with the objective to further increase torsional rigidity and to incorporate the Lotus supplied suspension system. These characteristics provide an ideal foundation for enhanced vehicle dynamics. The Spyker C8 Preliator will use the Audi 4.2 litre V8 engine Spyker has used since its inception but now boasting 525 bhp as a result of a supercharger and will be available with two transmission alternatives. The Spyker C8 Preliator will be fitted as standard with a 6- speed Getrag manual gearbox, with ratios perfectly matched to the V8 supercharged engine. A ZF 6-speed automatic gearbox, which comes standard with paddle shifts behind the steering wheel to progress smoothly through the ratios is an option. Both transmissions retain Spyker’s trademark exposed gear change mechanism.
Spyker has put tremendous efforts in the space frame performance of the C8 Preliator, specifically the structure’s efficiency. The utilisation of modern finite element and numerical optimization methods has allowed Spyker’s engineers to arrive at an exceptionally stiff structure of 24.000Nm/degree, a 10% improvement over the previous model. Rigid-node and load-path technology has been employed in order to ensure that the minimum amount of aluminium is used to achieve this performance, thus reducing the overall weight of the vehicle. The dynamic stiffness characteristics of the structure have been carefully tuned in order to minimize unwanted cabin noises and vibrations, which may otherwise detract from the driving experience. These technologies and measures have allowed Spyker to arrive at the most efficient chassis in its history.
