Koenigsegg (left) and Muller unveiling the V8 engine to be used in new Spyker cars.
GENEVA: At this year's Geneva Motor Show, boutique Dutch carmaker Spyker announced that all of its new cars are set to come with a Koenigsegg engine under their bespoke, hand-built hoods.
The new partnership, announced by company founder Victor Muller with Christian von Koenigsegg standing at his side, could well lead to a serious spike in Spyker sales and increase their appeal among supercar collectors.
"This is our single most important advancement in technology since I founded Spyker in 2000," said Muller. "I am convinced our Spyker C8 Preliator clients will tremendously enjoy the huge performance leap."
Not that Spykers were slouches around the track before the partnership. They've traditionally used an Audi sourced, supercharged V8 but as well as upping the performance considerably, the partnership with Koenigsegg gives the marque that has only been back from bankruptcy for a year (after trying and ultimately failing to rescue the Saab brand), an independent seal of supercar approval, such is the respect and admiration Koenigsegg wields within the industry.
"I have known Victor and Spyker for way over a decade, and we obviously share the passion for handcrafted and bespoke automobiles," said von Koenigsegg. "I have always admired Spyker's tenacity and their commitment to building one-of-a-kind cars that stay true to a well-honed ethos and always been impressed by their amazing craftsmanship and beauty."
But, as the Swedish engineering genius points out, until now, the only element of each Spyker that wasn't truly bespoke was its engine and the new partnership will remedy that. "It gives us great pleasure to work with Spyker to design and produce an engine specifically for them that will suit the handcrafted, luxurious and high-performance nature of all Spyker cars. In terms of performance the introduction of our light, responsive and powerful engine will transform the driving experience of the Preliator."
The engine in question will be a 5-litre normally aspirated V8 that will output 600hp and although no official performance figures have been published, expect it to be fast.
