December 21, 2014

Iconic car maker Spyker bankrupt

Filed under: Automobiles by Branko Collin @ 2:55 pm

spyker-f1-car-morio

The Court of Middle-Netherlands has declared car manufacturer Spyker bankrupt, Channel News Asia reported last Thursday.

Internationally the sports car manufacturer was perhaps best know as the company that bought Saab in 2010 for 1.5 billion euro. CEO Victor Muller said the line of sports cars had been doing well, but that “we had to pay dearly for our other activities.”

Spyker is a name with some history in the Netherlands. In 1880 coach builders Jacobus and Hendrik-Jan Spijker founded a company with that name which amongst others built the Gold Coach that was given by the citizens of Amsterdam to Queen Wilhelmina and that is still in use today. The company went bankrupt after one of the brothers died when the ferry he was on sank, but was bought by another party and continued until 1926. It also built aeroplane engines and provided the inspiration for cartoon hero Oliver B. Bumble’s car De Oude Schicht (The OId Flash).

In 1999 Victor Muller used the brand to start a new car company. Last Thursday Muller said he would “relentlessly endeavour to resurrect Spyker as soon as practically possible.” Unless of course somebody else buys the intellectual property from the trustee. Interest in the company appears to be healthy.

With Carver and now Spyker bankrupt, soon the only cars produced in the country might be flying cars—assuming they ever get off the ground.

(Photo of Adrian Sutil driving the Spyker F1 by Morio, some rights reserved)

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September 15, 2014

Man steals piece of royal carriage, owns up 50 years later

Filed under: Weird by Branko Collin @ 10:02 am

golden-carriage-zoetnetIn 1955 fireman Cor Priele and two colleagues had to guard the Golden Carriage which was on display in Rotterdam at the time.

Guard duty must have been boring. The firemen, Poot, Smaal and Priele, started using the royal carriage as a room to sit in and even to play tag around. That’s where things went south. Priele’s boot got caught behind the royal bench and a golden string broke off.

The three guards decided not to tell anyone because it would mean they would get fired on the spot. “I was very, very scared”, the former fireman from Sleeuwijk, Noord-Brabant told Omroep Brabant. He took the string home and kept it in an empty jam jar.

But this year, 50 years after the heinous deed and with both of his colleagues deceased, 83-year-old Priele decided to make amends. He wrote King Willem-Alexander a letter explaining what happened and offered both his apologies and the return of the royal, golden string.

The Golden Carriage was built in 1898 by the Spyker brothers (even before they started making motor cars) as a gift from the citizens of Amsterdam to Queen Wilhelmina on the occasion of her ascension to the Dutch throne. Citizens of Amsterdam chipped in 25 cents each.

It is as yet unknown whether the King has taken Priele up on his offer or not.

(Photo by Zoetnet, some rights reserved)

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January 31, 2009

Spyker going strong in spite of global recession

Filed under: Automobiles by Eric @ 11:48 am

While other car manufacturers world-wide are struggling to survive and hoping on governmental support to help them through the current recession, Dutch car manufacturer Spyker puts out a press release stating that in 2008 they almost doubled their production compared to 2007. And it doesn’t stop here: “Overall, we are optimistic that we will see a further increase in production and our distribution network this year”, says Victor R. Muller, Spyker’s Chief Executive Officer.

There aren’t too many Dutch car manufacturers and despite its historical background, Spyker is a relative newcomer. Establishing these results in a very competitive niche market, in which even Porsche and Ferrari are considered to be cars for the common people, is definitely a feat that calls for a big thumbs up!

Photo of a Spyker C12 Zagato by Joosthug, some rights reserved.

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February 18, 2008

Not speakerphone, Spyker phone

Filed under: Automobiles,Gadgets by Orangemaster @ 1:00 pm
spyker-phone.jpg

According to the iphoneclub.nl, Dutch luxury car manufacturer Spyker presented a new mobile phone at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. The device looks pretty much like an iPhone, has a touch screen and a small number pad. CNET, who discovered the phone at the congress, was impressed with it and described it as the best iPhone clone to date. And it’s not the first Spyker comes up with a phone either. They once had a Nokia look-a-like.

Since this phone says Spyker, it can be freely coordinated with your Porsche perfume, your Ferrari hat and your Jaguar key chain.

(Link: Spyker phone, Photo: zibb.nl)

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April 11, 2007

Spyker vs. the Air Force

Filed under: Automobiles,Aviation by Orangemaster @ 5:08 pm
spyker1.jpg

On Friday, 20 April the Volkel airbase in Uden, Noord-Brabant will host a very special demonstration between a Royal Netherlands Air Force F-16 and a Dutch Spyker Formule 1 car driven by Dutch race car driver Christijan Albers. Unfortunately, the event is invitation only. The Air Force hopes to recruit personel and the Spyker F1 team wants to be seen and heard. Once upon a time, back in 1915, Spyker had been in the business of building airplanes.

(Link)

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