Now that the C8 Preliator is up and running, Dutch-American manufacturer Spyker, can focus on the development of yet another vehicle.
According to Autocar, which is quoting Spyker CEO Victor Muller, the automaker will pull the covers off an SUV during this year’s Los Angeles Auto Show, inspired by the D12 Peking-to-Paris concept car from 2006 (pictured below).
“It has always been my long-held wish to put that car into production. You could say we were 10 years ahead of our time; today there are lots of luxury performance SUVs on the market, but then there were very few“, Muller said.
While the version that will reportedly head over to Los Angeles will use a V12 petrol engine, the manufacturer also plans an electric model: “In a sports car you want the engagement of a combustion engine, but in an SUV, I don’t mind having a quiet engine. Electric power is much more sellable here“, he added.
Muller said that a hybrid powertrain is unlikely for the firm’s upcoming SUV, due to “complications“, giving the example of the BMW i8: “It is an amazing car, but it is super-complicated and packaging is a nightmare, as is keeping the heat situation under control. If you use only electric motors, you do not have to deal with these issues.”
The Spyker CEO believes the brand will follow a different path from Tesla too, mainly because of the lithium-ion battery technology, which “has one major disadvantage that will not go away: degradation.“
With a low-volume production, the company has no plans of competing with Elon Musk’s company or BMW, as Mueller looks up to Koenigsegg for the answer: “It can compete with Bugatti, which is owned by the VW Group. I’m very excited by the way small, boutique manufacturers like us can give the big boys a run for their money as low-volume carmakers.”
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