Driving Sports

The Spyker story is fascinating, in its way.  Once upon a time, there was a dutch coachbuilder (literally - they made horse coaches, including the one still in use by the Dutch royal family today) named Spijker. They changed their company name to Spyker around 1900 and went on building cars, airplanes, and airplane engines until the whole thing petered out in the 1920s.

In the modern era, a group of investors decided to form a car company. They wanted to give it some class and history, so they bought the trademarks and name of the long-defunct Spyker. As the wooden puppet Pinocchio was approximately a human child, the new Spyker was approximately a car company. They made a bunch of ultra-high-end cars that used Audi drivetrains and featured particularly flamboyant designs. Here at Driving Sports, we're not Spyker fans, but we recognize that we're particularly cranky and hard to please.

So, in their quest to gain more respect and street cred, Spyker bought itself a Formula One team from a Russian industrialist. Spyker got the old Midland team and changed its name to Spyker MF1. But the foray into racing was short-lived and the team was ultimately outsource to India and is now known as Force India. You have to wonder who answers the phone if they need tech support...

But the biggest news about Spyker has come in the last few months. As part of its bankruptcy and general shrinkage, General Motors decided to sell off its subsidiary SAAB (Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget, or Swedish Aeroplane Company) brand. Saab, unlike Spyker, is a brand that people have actually heard of. People may even know someone who has owned and even loved a Saab at some point. Reaching back in the Driving Sports archives, we've even owned a 1982 Saab 900 turbo in our youth, when the interwebs were actually made of cast iron. It was a great car, and chicks dug it.

So, after a tremendous kerfluffle in which Swedish supercar maker Koenigsegg and other suitors danced till dawn with the venerable General, Spyker has purchased Saab, with certain contracts and blah blah blah from GM along with the deal.  This is ultimately a good thing, because when the Swedes are allowed to design and build cars the way they want to, they come up with some great machines. Saab was a pioneer in front wheel drive and of course, our old Saab 900 Turbo was one of the first sport compact cars worthy of the name. Saabs have a great history in Rally Racing, too. (Photo by Rudolf Stricker)

So the Pinocchio story ends with the wooden doll becoming a real boy. With Spyker now in control of a company that produces cars that cost less than 6 figures, it looks like their wish upon a star just came true.