From the key that awakens the 400hp engine, to the air vents in the cabin, the Spyker C8 Aileron is a car produced with only one thing in mind: attention to detail. Purists are grateful.
The Spyker C8 Aileron is a work of Dutch origin (headquarters of the brand) and debuted in 2009 at the Paris salon. Fruit of the evolution of the previous model, the Spyker C8 Laviolette, the C8 Aileron appears as its worthy successor. The aeronautical pedigree is evident in almost every aspect of the C8 Aileron. The materials used, for example, recall the aviation industry in the middle of the last century, due to the extensive use of aluminum.
A space frame chassis of just 230 kg, also made of aluminum, gives the necessary rigidity to accompany the performance of the suspension, specially developed by Lotus. On the outside, the body panels are molded using temperatures in the region of 500ºC.
Also on the outside, the glass roof is divided by an air intake which, like the others, takes the form of jet engines. The stainless steel rear diffuser aids stability and generates downforce at higher speeds, further contributing to the slim look of the whole package.
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The brand's aeronautical heritage gains even more traction inside the Spyker C8 Aileron. Forget digital interiors inspired by ultra-modern fighter jets, the C8 Aileron was inspired by other times, older times when mini-carrots were the greatest advance in genetics, and the temperatures of car fluids were shown through hands, from light metal is. Inside the C8 Aileron what isn't leather is aluminum.
The center console is the exhibition stage for a characteristic piece of the brand, we are talking about the exposed gear lever which, unlike the previous model of the brand, is not a gear selector but rather the mode of the 6-speed ZF automatic gearbox. The option for an automatic transmission was justified by Peter Van Rooy, sales manager, as a necessity to make the car more interesting for the American and Middle-Eastern market. Gearbox changes are in charge of paddle shifts, large, fixed and in aluminum.
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Note that so far we haven't mentioned the steering wheel, and with good reason! For true purists – who were already unhappy with the automatic transmission – the steering wheel is the second biggest heresy of the Spyker C8 Aileron, as it is the same as the Audi R8 … and the Lamborghini Gallardo. Probably, it was the safety regulations that dictated the inclusion of a steering wheel with an air-bag, but let us remember the mythical four-arm steering wheel of the C8 Laviolette, devoid of an air-bag but simply epic.
In the engine room there is a trusty 4.2l capacity Audi V8 engine. The 400hp are modest and show that the intention here is not to break records. Acceleration up to 100km/h consumes 4.5 seconds and the top speed is 300km/h, numbers that have much to say thanks to the relatively low weight of 1400kg. Still, if the appetite for more drastic acceleration speaks louder, the brand offers the possibility of forced induction through a volumetric compressor that makes the power rise up to 500hp.
Between uncertainties about the continuity of production and supply cuts by suppliers, almost 5 years have passed since the Spyker C8 Aileron was introduced to the world, and since then it has been a car that has never made itself known to the world in the same way. that others in the same class have done so, and this reveals itself in sales: around 80 cars since 2009, and in 2013 only two units were sold. Taking into account the competition and the price of €240 000, the C8 Aileron becomes an attractive car only for a small niche in the market.
A niche that knows very well what it wants. A car where performance is not the most important thing, but the details and sensations it conveys. Stay with the gallery:
