Spyker C8 Aileron LM85 special edition finishes off a Dutch treat
The long-running, oddly styled and sublimely constructed second-generation Dutch supercar says goodbye.
It's been a long time coming, but the quirky Spyker C8 Aileron is finally exiting production. As you might expect from the colorfully styled Dutch sports car, the model is going out in particularly flashy style with this new motorsports-inspired LM85 special edition.
The somewhat obscure two-seat exotic bowed back at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show, but in truth, the aeronautically inspired design dates all the way back to 2000, to Spyker's original C8. Despite its long production run, the C8 Aileron remains scarce, and is perhaps best known for its starring roles in console video-game series such as Gran Turismo and Forza Motorsport.
Just three of these special LM85 cars will be built, with the trio being powered by an Audi-sourced 532-horsepower supercharged 4.2-liter V8 engine mounted amidships. When to to the standard six-speed automatic, 0-62 mph is quoted in 3.9 seconds.
The LM85s feature unique Spyker Squadron GT-inspired paint schemes, each in different colors, as well as a matching interior done up in the company's typically outrageous style.
If the designation "LM85" seems familiar, you're probably a motorsports devotee who remembers the alphanumeric designation on the company's endurance cars. The scrappy team contested such legendary races as the 24 Hours of LeMans, the 12 Hours of Sebring and the 12 hours of Spa. Spyker officially raced from 2002 to 2010 before folding in 2011. Spyker even briefly fielded a Formula 1 team in 2006 and 2007.
It isn't just the C8 Aileron LM85's paint that's been inspired by the company's racing efforts -- the trio features the distinctively handcrafted and riveted aluminum body panels of the competition cars, including the wider fenders. Spykers have been to known to have some of the most outlandish and mesmerizing cabins in all of autodom, and the LM85 triplets look to be no different, including unique seats in two-tone leather, Chronoswiss gauges and Spyker's trademark exposed transmission selector, which is a work of art.
Even before Spyker's ill-advised and short-lived purchase of the now-defunct Saab brand from General Motors in 2010 and its subsequent bankruptcy in 2014, Spyker's path to prosperity was never particularly clear. With the C8 Aileron headed out of production, the wonderfully enigmatic automaker from The Netherlands plans to continue building sports cars, focusing on the third-generation C8 Preliator introduced in 2016.