The modern incarnation of the Spyker badge evokes the spirit of the Dutch brothers, Jacobus and Hendrik-Jane Spijker, who pioneered features such as the six-cylinder engine, all-wheel-drive, and brakes on all four wheels on cars made at the start of the 20th Century. An ambitious and exciting company, the marque was revived in 1999, retaining the original company’s Latin motto, “Nulla tenaci invia est via”, or “For the tenacious, no road is impassable.”

The Spyker C8 Spyder made its debut at the Birmingham Motor Show in 2000 to great excitement. Design elements throughout paid homage to the company’s automotive and aeronautical legacy, most notably its aluminium spaceframe construction, fuselage-like styling with rear “cannon-port” vents and a prominent grille intake, and “Aeroblade” wheels with propeller-shaped spokes. The interior featured an intricate engine-turned dashboard fascia and backlit, chrome-rounded gauges, as well as an open-shift gearshift gate, a billet-machined pedal box with exposed linkages, and rows of toggle switches mimicking an aeroplane’s instrument panel. The racing-bred chassis gained double-wishbone fully independent suspension powered by a 395 brake horsepower, 4.2-litre V-8 engine sourced by Audi twinned with a six-speed Getrag transaxle.

With only 121 examples of the C8 Spyder made, the open-topped sports car was known to enthusiasts as a thrilling alternative to supercars from rival marques. Yet the Spyker shot to cultural fame with numerous appearances in film, TV, and video games. The example offered here boosted Spyker’s cultural presence, particularly in North America, as it was driven in the 2007 blockbuster film, War. Starring the internationally acclaimed actors Jason Statham and Jet Li, the Hollywood movie gave the C8 a starring role as it was piloted by Li in an exciting action sequence. Following its appearance on the silver screen, the inner door jamb of the car was signed by Victor Muller, founder of Spyker Cars.

Built in February 2004, this stunning example was finished in metallic silver over a red leather interior, with extensive diamond-quilt stitching throughout—desirably this example has the ever-popular propeller steering wheel, along with the extra air intake above the engine. Matching its red interior is the mohair hood which is the more desirable “long” design with rear buttresses, rather than the later “short” hood. Importantly, this example is equipped with a more powerful Audi S8 engine while it features the beautiful 19-inch Aeroblade wheels, further adding to the aeronautical theme of the car.

The car is presented with a Certificate of Conformity issued by Spyker Automobielen b.v. in 2017 which explains that the car was built for the EU but also to meet all USA Federal regulations for safety and emissions (please contact an RM Sotheby’s specialist for further information on import into the USA). During the current ownership, this Spyker has been subjected to considerable maintenance between 2022 and 2024 by Jasper den Dopper of IMengines, trading as SpykerEnthusiast. The first bill is dated February 2022 and involves a considerable list of engine-out maintenance, exceeding €14,000. Subsequent invoices—issued in August 2022 and January 2024 respectively—cover further maintenance including the refurbishment of the interior dials. The later invoices detail a combined cost exceeding €4,000 and are available to view on file. The same Vorstenbosch workshop carried out a light bodywork repair after the C8 rolled backwards into a garage door. Today, this Spyker displays just 27,480 kilometres from new at time of cataloguing.

Today, the Spyker presents just as it was shown in the War film epic, finished in the same shade of silver over a red quilted leather interior. The interior is framed by the presence of the desirable “propellor”-style steering wheel. The Spyker C8 Spyder is an amazing machine to behold, and this example—with its attractive colour combination and movie screen provenance—offers irresistible V-8 performance to match its looks.