Spyker WILL Build Paris-to-Peking Super SUV

Ambitious – Again

By Henny Hemmes
Senior European Editor
The Auto Channel

AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands, August 30, 2012; Some five years after its planned production start, the Spyker Paris-to-Peking SSUV will finally be realized. That was the latest news this week from Spyker CEO Victor Muller.

Thanks to an investment of 25 million euro by the Chinese company Zhejiang

Youngman, which earlier was in the market to take over Saab, Spyker will be able to finish the Super SUV project.

Since the failed take over attempt, which, according to Muller, was to blame to General Motors, the relationship with Youngman has been very good. Now the two companies want to work together in two new joint-ventures.

With around 10 million euro, the Chinese investment company wants to take a 29.9 percent stake in the sports car manufacturer. This amount is needed to start up the Aileron production. For 6.7 million euro, Youngman gets A-shares and will also provide a loan of 3.3 million euro.

With 25 million euro, Youngman also wants to take a 75 per cent share in Spyker P2P B.V., a new joint-venture to build the Paris-to-Peking SUV. This Super-luxury SUV was presented as a concept at the 2006 Geneva Auto Show and will be priced at around 250,000 euro. Muller plans to build the P2P SSUV in the Dutch city of Zeewolde. He also plans to add more models in the future.

Muller said that he had a deposit of 220 customers for the luxury SUV in 2007, but as there was no funding to finish the car, most of them got their money back. Some twenty clients have stayed on board , while the development was continued.

In Spyker Phoenix, the second joint-venture, both companies want to build a new line of premium cars on the so-called Phoenix architecture, that was developed for Saab. In 2011, Youngman got a license for the Phoenix platform, developed by Saab in 2010-2011, for around 70 million euro.

The Phoenix platform was introduced in 2011 at the Geneva auto show as part of a Saab concept and was meant to be the basis for all future Saab models. The models were designed by Jason Castriotta.

The Spyker-Phoenix models will be positioned well about the former Saab models and be produced in China and Europe

Youngman will provide financing and gets 80 percent of the shares of the joint-venture. According to Victor Muller, the further development of the new models will take time, and will not be realized within the next three years. Muller said to the Dutch Automobiel Management: “At Saab’s we had 800 engineers and had to go some six months to finish the project. What Youngman has now, is a box full of DVD’s in a vault.”

The models were designed by Jason Castriotta, the Spyker P2P vehicle (2007 LA Auto Show Intro) will be a relatively light 1850 kg/ 4,178 pounds SSUV with 4-wheel drive, 4 doors and 4 seats. The 195 inches long SUV will have an aluminum body on an aluminum space frame and will sit on 24-inch ‘Aeroblade’ wheels. The performance and driving sensation will be like that of a super sports car. Spyker will use the 6.0-liter aluminum 12-cylinder W-12 engine from the Volkswagen Group, which has 500 hp and 450 pounds-feet of torque. The acceleration time should be 5 seconds to reach 62 mpg while the top speed will be 185 mph. It will be custom built.

Paris To Peking SSUV Intro in LA November 2006

Story Photos: Victor Muller and Jason Castriotta