Spyker will sell no car before its time
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If you're in the market for a new car, something completely different but reasonable to the pocketbook, stop reading now. What you are about to experience over the course of this story delivers on the first requirement but at a price that only multimillionaires may deem reasonable.
We're talking about the Spyker, a car so detailed and intricate that it takes months just to build one model, a car that has not a single piece of plastic in any of its components.
Only 60 of these babies are built a year right now in the factory at Zeewolde, The Netherlands, and at that rate, it may not be surprising that they start -- start! --at $269,000.
For those still in the market, you're in luck. The Auto Palace on Baum Boulevard in Shadyside is one of only 20 authorized dealers in the world to sell the Spyker and one of only a dozen in the United States.
"There's no other manufacturer building a car like this,'' said Michael Salimbene, general manager of Auto Palace Porsche, which also sells Ferraris and other luxury cars. "The welding is all done by hand, the stitching of the leather and the quilting is done by hand. I've never seen so much attention to detail."
As an example, just about any other car maker uses a plastic container as a fluid overflow reservoir for the radiator. Not the Spyker. Its overflow reservoir is all aluminum, and hand-shaped and assembled, he said.
But is there a market for this kind of car in Pittsburgh? Absolutely, said Mr. Salimbene.
The location alone, as a gateway to both the Midwest and the East Coast, is ideal. And the market has proven capable of supporting high-end cars, he said, noting that more than two-thirds of the Ferraris it sells every year stay in local hands.
"There's plenty of money in Pittsburgh,'' he said, adding that the dealership also sells products all over the world. "We've sold cars in Sweden, Costas Rica, the Middle East ... we're well-known across the country.''
Mr. Salimbene found out about the Spyker through a magazine. He sent the chief executive officer, Victor Muller, an e-mail, and the two starting talking and, after meeting face to face at a Ferrari event, agreed Auto Palace would be the next Spyker dealer.
The Spyker's heritage dates back more than a century to a Dutch automobile maker founded in the late 1800s by two brothers, Jacobus and Hendrik-Jan Spijker. Over the subsequent years, the company won a number of races, set speed records and was known for its flamboyant, sometimes aircraft-inspired bodywork and detailing.
Back in 1914, Spyker merged with the Dutch Aircraft Factory N.V, adopting an aircraft propeller and wire wheel. Its slogan: "For The Tenacious, No Road Is Impassable."
During World War I, Spyker developed and built aircraft. Auto production resumed after the war, but ceased in 1926. It reappeared in 1999 under a new company, Spyker Cars, that took the brand name but otherwise was unrelated to the original company. Its first model, the Spyker C8 Spyder, was unveiled a year later at the Birmingham Motor Show.
The car has features that can be described as nothing short of arresting. There are the dramatic doors that resemble bird's wings when they open. There's the gorgeous aluminum "Aeroblade" steering wheel that is covered in Hulshof leather that is riveted to the rim and features two propellers.
And there's a beautiful, sparkling chrome gearshift with a matching rod going through the middle of it that is the length of the entire console -- an unusual mechanism to be sure.
You can get the car painted in literally any color you wish. Each body component and panel is numbered and forever linked as belonging to the particular chassis number for the car.
And just in case you can't get to sleep some night and you want to do something other than count sheep, Spyker's got just the thing for you. Each car, once ordered, gets its own Web site that lets the buyer watch workers build the car.
"The Web cam stays on your car 24 hours a day from the very beginning all the way to the end," Mr. Salimbene said.
You'll certainly have lots of time to enjoy the view -- it takes some time to build the car. "Mine went to production in October, 2005, and it wasn't finished until the first week of March," Mr. Salimbene said with a chuckle.
One thing's for sure -- it's well worth the wait.
V.W.H. Campbell Jr., Post-GazetteSteve Tady, with Auto Palace Porsche in Shadyside, shows off a new Spyker, a limited-edition luxury car with a price tag starting at $269,000. Auto Palace is one of only 20 authorized dealers in the world to sell the cars, which are built at a factory in Zeewolde, The Netherlands.
Click photo for larger image.
First Published April 20, 2006 12:00 am
