Spyker courts European investors

If you're a regular reader here on Autoblog, it should come as no surprise that Spyker is in deep financial trouble. The exotic Dutch carmaker was forced to sell off its F1 team, cancel the production of the C12 Zagato supercar and even mortgage its own name.Never content to go quietly into the night, however, Spyker is on a campaign to raise funds. The latest endeavor has been to court European investors, but negotiations with Lichtenstein-based ACI recently fell through after an initial agreement was signed. According to reports, Spyker is now in negotiations with Snoras Group, a Lithuanian bank, to fund and potentially acquire stake in the Dutch automaker. Spyker says it has a few other possibilities on tap, and hopefully one of them will come through to rescue the company and its beautifully quirky automobiles.  

2009 Spyker C8 Laviollete LM85 - Spyker's Even More Extreme GT2-Derived C8

 

 

 

 

 

 Released to the public at the LA Auto Show, the 2009 Spyker C8 Laviolette LM85 will see a super-limited production run of only 24 units. The Spyker C8 edition is designed to commemorate Spyker's success in Le Mans racing, and a select few Spyker fans will get a piece of automotive history.The C8 Laviolette LM85 carries the same Audi-sourced 4.2 liter engine as other recent C8 models, and the exterior and interior are familiar though upgraded with even greater use of weight saving materials than before. The chassis is manufactured entirely from aluminum, and the little details that set the C8 Laviolette LM85 apart, like black powder-coated alloy wheels and even the option of left or right hand drive based on what is most familiar to the customer's home nation.The C8's iconic, and iconoclastic, shape is loved by some and simply confuses many others. But Spyker's fans are rabid, and a curb weight of only 2800 should ensure the C8 Laviolette LM85 retains Lotus-esque handling characteristics.But all the fancy exterior and interior features do not change the fact that this is still basically a kit car, with the engine coming from Audi and most key components being crate items. But, street legal speed and real head-turning Spyker styling are worth the price of admission, whatever that base price ends up being once it is announced by Spyker. Read on for all the official details, direct from the automaker. 

Spyker C8 Aileron to Make US Debut at Pebble Beach

Spyker C8 Aileron   

Spyker C8 Aileron

Spyker will once again grace the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance with its presence making it the eighth consecutive appearance at the show, since it's rebirth in 2000. This year the specialist marque will bring the Spyker C8 Aileron, an all aluminium concept that previews the second generation C-line sports car.The long wheel base model is making its first appearance on US soil, under the hood is a powerful 4.2 litre V8 producing 400 BHP position in the middle of the car giving the model superb weight distribution. The C8 Aileron is set to go into full production by the end of the year.Joining the LWB C8 Aileron at the show will be the C8 Spyder and a C8 Laviolette.

Spyker Adds Thrust to C8

 

 

 

 

Skeptics may be wondering about the direction that Spyker is taking after last year’s sale of its F1 team that had cost them more than $100 million. But as the press conference progressed, it became clear that the Dutch company is far from dead. After an audio montage of fighter jet noises and scanner traffic, Spyker launched its second-generation C-line sports car called the C8 Aileron. It’s a thing of beauty and it’s not a car for the weak at heart. With 400 bhp and 354 lb-ft of torque coming from an Audi 4.2-liter V8, the premium sports car can be mated to a 6-speed Getrag manual or a 6-speed automatic ZF gearbox — a Spyker first.  But where the automaker was going with the introduction might have been a hint to the aviation-inspired design cues. In the previous generation, the propeller design was consistently applied to many elements of their cars including the Aeroblade wheels. But just as the propeller engine was succeeded by the turbine engine, so has the design of this car. Gone are the Aeroblade wheels and in are turbine engine-shaped wheels called the “Rotorblade.” An air intake resides on top of the roof, the signature polished aluminum air inlets are now turbine engine-shaped scoops and the glass jet brighten-inspired canopy has been extended to reduce drag. The radiator opening was enlarged and the V-shaped mesh is angled forward to give the car a more aggressive stance. At the rear, the diffuser has been redesigned and the taillights are now LED units. Other improvements include a more rigid aluminum space frame and a longer wheelbase. Although there may not be any F1 races anytime soon, Spyker does have new financial backing from a Lithuanian bank. In 2008 and 2009, the Spyker Squadron factory GT2 team will compete in both the Le Mans Series and 24 Hours of Le Mans. If the mad scramble of journalists shoving their way to the Spyker stand for a press kit is any indication of how well they did with the C8 Aileron, it may be a sign of good things to come.

[ Via: Classic Driver ]
[ Tag: boats, etc, maarten de bruijn, MaartenDeBruijn, silvestris, speedboat, spyker ]

Ridemakerz Model Cars - Pratt & Miller Introduces Eco Corvettes

At their facility in New Hudson, Michigan, Pratt & Miller (the engineering team behind the AMLS Corvette program) introduced eco-friendly editions of their famed C6R and C6RS Chevrolet Corvettes. Jumping on the green bandwagon, the new models are smaller and lighter than the company's current race and street editions.Now for the details; these all-new eco-friendly Vettes are powered by either high-torque electric motors or the forearm muscles of the driver. (Did we have you going for just a second?)Yup, these are toy Corvettes manufactured by Ridemakerz, a company that uses a Build-A-Bear process that lets kids actually "build" model cars that they can have fun with after the build is complete.The two new Corvettes, one that features "Jake" the Corvette Racing mascot (the skull), can be built at Ridemakerz stores in nine states. Models can also be ordered on-line and then assembled at home (www.Ridemakerz.com).At the debut of the new Corvettes at Pratt & Miller's race shop, Ridemakerz 's CEO Founder Larry Andreini told us, "The new C6R and C6RS tap into American's general love of cars and their particular passion for America's sports car, the Chevy Corvette. We're excited to make these models available so that kids, parents, and any car enthusiasts can all build and trick out their ultimate model Corvette. Fathers and sons should especially be fired up about these Pratt & Miller Corvettes because of their racing record and awesome style. These cars are something they can build and enjoy together."OK Dad, now you know what to get your kid for Christmas. Build two and you can upset the wife by racing through the living room.Ron Fellows, long-time Corvette race driver, was also on hand to help launch the new cars. He didn't seem to mind that the cars were electric as he raced the assembled media and demonstrated that he was as fast when controlling his car via a joystick as he is when he is behind a full-sized wheel.The event also gave Ridemakerz the chance to do something good in Detroit ... a town that could use a break these days. The company has two stores in Detroit, and to help celebrate the new C6R and C6RS, Ridemakerz contributed $2,500 to Mitch Albom's charity, The Dream Fund at the College of Creative Studies. (Albom is a Detroit-based, nationally syndicated radio talk show host and sports reporter.) Additional funds were donated based on the sales of model cars at the company's two Detroit stores.Albom noted, "Kids everywhere love cars, but even more so in Detroit. These cars and the Ridemakerz experience will get kids and a lot of dads I know excited. I'm glad to have Ridemakerz as part of the team that supports The Dream Fund."

[ Via: Automobilemag ]
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U.S. Manufacturers to Slash Funding - NASCAR Racing News

Not only is NASCAR the most popular form of racing in America, it's probably more popular than all of its rivals put together. It's got more fans, more sponsors, more money, and more credibility. It's also got a tragic flaw - a well-deserved reputation for being the most arrogant sanctioning body in the country. And its long-overdue comeuppance is on the way.After a decade as America's most-ballyhooed sports-marketing marvel, the bloom is coming off the NASCAR rose. Its fan base is aging. Attendance is plummeting. Television ratings are off significantly from historic highs. Licensing revenue is down. Sponsors are walking. Operating costs are skyrocketing. So despite the introduction of the Car of Tomorrow, NASCAR is looking more and more like yesterday's news."NASCAR's model is resisting change rather than embracing it," says a longtime motorsports media and marketing maven who requested anonymity for fear of retribution. "In an age that celebrates individuality, it's a mass-market, homogenized product featuring cars that are nothing more than parity appliances. It's stuck in a time warp, and it seems old all of a sudden - a twentieth-century sport in the twenty-first century."To a certain degree, NASCAR is a victim of its own success. So much money has flowed into the Sprint Cup series that top drivers now earn as much as it cost to run an entire program ten years ago, and annual car budgets are running as high as $25 million. With the economy tanking, sponsors are hard to find. Thus, Carl Edwards, a perennial front-runner with the Roush Fenway juggernaut, has raced with Office Depot, Claritin, Aflac, AAA, and Dish Network on his hood at different Cup events this year. In the meantime, the truck series is losing Craftsman as its title sponsor, and NASCAR hasn't been able to land a replacement.The latest body blow is the news that American automobile manufacturers intend to slash their NASCAR funding. With the Big Three hemorrhaging money, cuts are inevitable. But there's a bigger issue. For the first time, automakers are seriously asking themselves why they're spending hundreds of millions of dollars in a series that promotes drivers rather than cars and showcases carbureted pushrod V-8s in massive, one-size-fits-all chassis clothed in generic bodywork with minimal connection to products sold in dealer showrooms."We don't feel we have enough identity in the cars," says Ford Racing spokeman Kevin Kennedy. "Also, we would like NASCAR to consider changes that would make the technology more relevant. We'd like them to consider alternative fuels, for example. We'd like them to look at smaller [engine] displacement. But NASCAR understands our concerns, and they're thinking of ways to create more rivalries between manufacturers."

[ Via: Automobilemag ]
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LA 2008: Our Orange Crush is the Spyker C8 Laviolette LM85

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Spyker C8 Laviolette LM85The Spyker C8 Laviolette LM85, which we'll call "Tiger," is officially out and about. Spyker has released more images of the Audi-engined, 400-hp, 6-speed manual Le Mans-inspired road car, and to our eyes it could be the best looking Spyker we've seen. The blacked-out mirrors do it a lot of favors and don't remind us any more of carry handles, and it has even retained 19-inch wheels secured with one lug nut and will apparently get you a combined 15 mpg on the EPA cycle. Not bad for a leathered up race car. Check out the press release after the jump and the galleries of high-res shots in our galleries below.

[ Via: Autoblog (Spyker) ]
[ Tag: c8, c8 laviolette, c8 laviolette lm85, C8Laviolette, C8LavioletteLm85, coupes, la 2008, la auto show, la auto show 2008, La2008, LaAutoShow, LaAutoShow2008, sports cars, SportsCars, spyker, spyker c8 laviolette, spyker c8 laviolette lm85, SpykerC8Laviolette, SpykerC8LavioletteLm85 ]