What is it?
The C8 Aileron is Dutch car company Spykers latest and, undoubtedly, its greatest road car creation. It emanates from the same fearless men of orange who, over the last 10 years, have systematically entered and then dropped out of F1, bought Saab and, in the meantime, produced some of the worlds weirdest supercars. Spyker is not, it is fair to summise, your typical sports car company.
To give you an idea what sort of outfit were talking about, Spykers motto is Nulla Tenaci invia est via. Translated literally this means; For the tenacious no road is impassable. Or to put it another way; anything in life is possible so long youve got the balls for it. And the new 194,000, 395bhp V8 Aileron certainly has plenty of cojones.
Yet beneath its strikingly aggressive, aircraft industry influenced styling complete with jet turbine wheel design and jet engine inspired air intakes the C8 is an extremely serious piece of kit. The engine and six-speed semi-auto gearbox have been lifted straight out of an Audi S4 and then tuned to suit Spykers needs, while the mid-engined space frame aluminium chassis has been designed and set up for Spyker by Lotus.
Power is 395bhp and torque 354lb ft, and if you think these numbers seem somewhat underwhelming in return for 194,000, you need to understand two key things about the Aileron; one, it is made mostly from aluminium and therefore weighs an impressively lithe 1425kg as a result.
Two, although its meant to be a quick car, the Ailerons prime motivation is not to destroy its opposition with raw speed. Instead, says Spyker, this car is built to charm its audience with a unique combination of style, grace, pace and exclusivity. The fact that its not as fast as similarly priced rivals from Ferrari, Lamborghini, Aston Martin et al doesnt really matter, as far as Spyker is concerned because Spyker knows its customers arent interested in pure speed.
What does matter, according to Spyker, is how the Aileron car will feel, sound, look and satisfy its small band of merry owners, of which there will be between 80-100 each year, and all of which will already own a small fleet of much faster supercars as well. Spykers current client base includes none other than Jennifer Lopez and Missy Elliot, natch.
Whats it like?
In many ways the Aileron is a peculiarly beguiling car, even if it isnt as quick as youd expect given its impressive power-to-weight ratio. The good bits include the thunderous noise it makes, the quite extraordinarily exquisite cabin design, the way it steers (which is to say, quite beautifully), and its handling and ride. Oh yes, and its bespoke Louis Vuitton luggage.
Spyker is dead proud of the fact that it is the first car company in the world to persuade Louis Vuitton to make luggage for its cars as an option. Then again, this particular option does cost, deep breath, just under 20,000 euros (17,800). More than anything else, this gives the clearest idea what sort of market the Aileron is aimed at. Namely, the very rich indeed.
The bad bits are the brakes which are snatchy but powerful at the moment but are due to be reworked on by AP before the car goes on sale anyway the slightly unamazing straight line performance, the poor rear visibility and, of course, the seemingly bonkers showroom price.
Its only when you climb into and drive the Aileron that the justification for such pricing becomes apparent, however. But when you get the Aileron, when you discover how beautifully made it is inside and out, and appreciate just how much craftsmanship has gone into its creation, the price no longer seems quite so silly. In fact, it almost starts to seem like good value.
Should I buy one?
Only if you are very rich and very confident in your own sense of taste and very happy to be gawped at wherever you go. It would also help if you were as pleasantly unhinged as the good people from Spyker itself, too. And if all those boxes are ticked then, yes, whats not to like about a car as beguiling as this?
Steve Sutcliffe
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How much?
- <LI done23="1" done21="1">Price as tested 194,000
- Price as tested 194,000
- <LI done23="3" done21="3">0-62 mph 4.5 sec
- Max speed 187 mph
- Weight 1425 kg
- <LI done23="6" done21="6">Combined 24.3 mpg
- CO<SUB>2</SUB> emissions 294 g/km
- <LI done23="8" done21="8">Layout V8 , 4172 cc <LI done23="9" done21="9">Max power 395 bhp at 6900 rpm
- Max torque 354 lb ft at 4000 rpm
