The effort to revive Dutch automaker Spyker appears to be finally making progress. Some of the parties involved in that effort have managed to complete a new one-off Spyker dubbed the C8 Aileron LM85, promising big things for the revived brand.
The C8 Aileron LM85 is the product of Luxembourg-based coachbuilder Milan Moraday and German tuner R Company, both of which were founded by Russian oligarch Michael Pessis. Along with BR Engineering and SMP Racing, two companies owned by Pessis’ business partner Boris Rotenberg provided a cash lifeline to Spyker in 2020. Also involved in the project was Jasper den Dopper, the Spyker restoration expert who goes by SpykerEnthusiast online.
According to a press release, the LM85 was “originally conceived by Spyker many years ago but never fully realized.” But it also shares a name with the special edition Spyker unveiled in 2017 to commemorate the end of Aileron production. It even has the same rivet-studded bodywork as that car, and a similar paint scheme inspired by a Spyker racing livery. This new car is powered by a supercharged V8 of unknown origin, coupled to a six-speed manual transmission. The 2017-vintage LM85 had an Audi-sourced 4.2-liter V8 with a blower, but with a six-speed auto.
Spyker planned to build three of the original LM85s, but it’s unclear what plans there are for this new version beyond rekindling interest in the brand. The last incarnation of Spyker launched in 1999 with the C8, with the updated C8 Aileron arriving about a decade later to keep the Steampunk design—based on Maarten de Bruijn’s Spyker Silvestris V8 concept—fresh. CEO Victor Muller had ambitious plans, briefly taking control of the Midland F1 team (the outfit now racing as Aston Martin) and buying the remains of Saab from General Motors.
The attempt to resuscitate Saab nearly killed Spyker. It unveiled an updated sports car called the B6 Venator at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, then returned to Geneva in 2016 with the C8 Preliator. It also announced an engine deal with Koenigsegg in 2017, but then went dark until the announcement of the oligarch bailout in 2020. Milan Moraday claims to have secured NOS parts, which will be made available to owners and also allow for new builds using leftover chassis. All of this will be coordinated from a new “central hub” in the Netherlands.
Another goal is to finally complete the Spyker D8 Peking-to-Paris SUV concept as a running vehicle. First shown in concept form in 2006, named after a long-distance race the original incarnation of Spyker competed in 1907, the D8 anticipated ultra-luxury SUVs like the Bentley Bentayga and Lamborghini Urus. Perhaps things would have been different if Spyker had gotten it into production twenty years ago.