If you didn’t know, Spyker just recently finished the talks about the engine supply, and they have signed the contract with Koenigsegg, which apparently gave them the needed boost to revive their plans for a luxury SUV. If you recall the 2006 Geneva Motor Show, then you know that Spyker back then introduced their D12 Peking-to-Paris SUV concept. Unfortunately, the company had some financial difficulties, and mainly because of that they decided to put aside the D12 concept, which, if I may say so, very accurately predicted the boom of high-performance SUV market.
In a statement to Autocar, Spyker boss Victor Muller revealed: “We went part of the way to producing what we called our super-SUV, or SSUV, a decade ago, before our troubles – and we were way ahead of the curve (for luxury SUVs) at the time.” He added that “The original vehicle was called the D12 Peking to Paris, and was going to use a Volkswagen W12 engine, but we lost our funding before we could deliver it and had to pay back deposits to more than 200 customers. It wasn’t a great experience and I’m resolved that we will never go through it again.”
Muller also mentioned that the new SUV is supposed to revolve around a Lotus-engineered aluminum platform and will be, thanks to the new engine contract, powered by a Koenigsegg V8, which is a sure bump up from the former Volkswagen W12 engine. They went even further and decided to equip the SUV with an electric motor which will have a role in extending the overall range as well as to impact the MPG ratio.
In the end, Muller had to add that “It will be an advanced hybrid SUV and one of the most beautiful cars of its kind. Its specifications are already set and, if things go well, I’d dream of showing it at the Geneva Motor Show in 2018.” But before the Geneva 2018 starts, check out these images and try to reacquaint yourself with what awaits you in just a year or so. Stay tuned for updates on the topic!
