Why Koenigsegg's 'Bulletproof' V8 Deal With Spyker Never Happened

At the Geneva Motor Show last year, it seemed as though wonderfully eccentric Dutch supercar company Spyker was back in action. Its ‘C8 Preliator’ was on display for the world to see, and there was one hell of a plan in place for the engine.

It was to be a naturally-aspirated V8 made by Koenigsegg. Given that Christian von Koenigsegg and his pals have a habit of cranking out well in excess of 1000bhp from its bespoke V8s, a less stressed example making a ‘mere’ 592bhp promised to be reliable. In fact, Christian famously told Road and Track at the time that the “over-engineered” lump would “last for I don’t know…200 years or something.”

Almost a year and a half on though, not a single engine has been purchased by Spyker. “We have not built any engines for Spyker,” Koenigsegg’s spokesperson Steve Wade confirmed to Autovise, adding “Spyker has not met the conditions, so we have not started building.”

The nature of Spyker Cars’ current situation isn’t clear, but the firm’s financial history since its founding in 1999 is best described as turbulent. Koenigsegg, however, remains hopeful. “We wish Spyker a good future and hope that they will once again be able to deliver their fascinating cars,” Wade said.

Let’s cross our fingers.