Flying Dutchman: 2008 Spyker C8 Laviolette for Sale on Bring a Trailer
There’s no other car quite like it.
By Brendan McAleer
Published: Mar 28, 2026
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[front three quarter view silver sports coupe parked in studio with black backdrop and smooth reflective floor. | Bring a Trailer]
Dutch automaker Spyker marched to the beat of its own drum.
This Laviolette has a glass roof, a manual transmission, and a wonderfully intricate interior.
With naturally aspirated V-8 power from Audi, it’s fleet of foot and has a great soundtrack.
Famous for its cycling culture, the Netherlands has nonetheless produced some huge contributions to the automotive world. Say what you want about Max Verstappen’s interview style, but the man could put a Little Tikes Cozy Coupe on the pole at Monza with a half-day of practice. And when it comes to supercars, the Dutch again do things a little bit differently than the mainstream.
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Take, for example, this 2008 Spyker C8 Laviolette, up for auction on Bring a Trailer (which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos). On the outside, it’s all polished nacelles and low-slung presence. On the inside, it somehow embodies Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis airplane.
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Spyker was founded at the turn of the 21st century, leaning hard on a former company history of manufacturing aircraft engines. Adopting a propeller badge and plenty of polished-aluminum styling inside and out, the firm’s first cars offered a level of detail and finish that wasn’t really found elsewhere at the time.
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You need only look at the gearshift linkage of this example to get an idea of what Spyker’s engineers were up to. Pivoting around a central chromed supporting rod, it’s elegant in its exposed working, somehow managing to outdo the gated manual shifter of a contemporary Ferrari. Then there’s the dash with its aeronautical four-spoke wheel and polished rings. It’s pure resurrected art deco.
If the interior’s a bit of a throwback, the rest of this Spyker C8 is thoroughly modern. That wacky gearshift lets you shake hands with a six-speed Getrag manual attached to an Audi-sourced 4.2-liter V-8, one of the loveliest matchups around. The V8 produces 400 horsepower in this application and makes a truly tremendous sound as you drive along.
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The C8 wasn’t the fastest machine of its day, as a contemporary Porsche 911 Turbo would out-sprint it relatively easily. However, it was quick and agile enough to be considered a proper sports car, and as a piece of theater, it was almost unbeatable. There are so many details to obsess over.
The Laviolet model denotes a tinted glass canopy roof versus the earlier convertible Spyder models, and it is a particularly rare variant with only 60 or so produced. This example has the equivalent of just 1600 miles on the odometer. It has benefited from an overhaul by Spyker specialist Jasper den Dopper, including perishables like weatherstripping, a refresh of the ignition system, and new dampers. The four-spoke steering wheel is a Euro-style replacement.
In fact, Jasper den Dopper is so passionate about Spyker as a company that he’s actually restarting it. The company’s founder has retained the rights to the name and last fall announced a planned return to building new cars, tapping Netherlands-based den Dopper as the specialist to do so.
It’ll be good to have Spyker still around to prove that not everything in the performance market is about chasing the ultimate lap times. On this point, perhaps, Mr. Verstappen would disagree. But as this C8 Laviolette proves, doubling down on being differently Dutch can be a great idea.
The auction ends on April 6.”
