The small yet ambitious Dutch supercar company Spyker has revealed the production version of its B6 Venator, which is planned to go into production in 2015. A concept version of the Venator, which is Latin for “hunter”, was introduced at the Geneva Auto Show in 2013, and a convertible Spyder version was shown at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Both concept vehicles were based on the German Artega GT. Spyker promised to have the Venator production ready by now, they decided to make some last minute changes to the compact sports coupe, although the delay will undoubtedly also be related to the need for a capital injection into the company.
The past couple of months, Spyker has been working to a new design for its smallest car yet. “After careful research of our potential market we’ve concluded that we could make the Venator appeal to a larger audience with just a few tweaks to the original concept.” according to John Walton, Chief Commercial Officer at Spyker. As a result, the sports car has returned to the drawing board shortly after its initial introduction. The final result is a car that’s been slightly stretched to offer increased interior space and luggage room. “The car will have a longer wheelbase, giving us the possibility to add a rear seat while offering more capacity for baggage. We’ve found that our potential customers appreciate practicality more than we initially thought.” The new layout is either a 2+2 with only room for small children in the rear seat or a 2+0 in which the rear seats are removed to create a larger storage area with leather straps. “This new design has enabled us to provide a decent space to store extra luggage. It’s not very deep, but wide enough to hold a golf bag.”
The added length is not the only design modification. “In the new design, we’re emphasizing the mid-engine sports car layout. Our potential customers thought that was not clear enough in the prototype. We’ve tackled this by accentuating the engine compartment”. Other changes are the larger rear diffuser and increased hood height. The visible gear shift linkages, a Spyker landmark, have not been altered, just like the engraving in the exhausts with Spyker’s motto “Nulla tenaci invia est via”, which means as much as “No road is impassable for the tenacious”.
Spyker has yet to announce where production of the B6 Venator will take place. The existing facility in The Netherlands has been ruled out. Spyker claims “It would take a huge investment to increase production capacity there, about 20 million Euro’s which is an enormous amount for a small company like us. We have a maximum capacity for 250 cars annually here. There are enough qualified contractors able to build the Venator for us, and possibly even at a higher level of quality than we are capable of.
And to most customers it doesn’t matter where their car leaves the factory, as long as it’s designed by us. In Zeewolde, we’ll continue to produce the C8 Aileron and fulfill special requirements for our customers. If a Venator buyer has specific demands, it’s more efficient to have the car completely built before transporting it to Zeewolde to do the modifications than to custom build every single unit.”
The B6 Venator is rumored to be powered by a 3,5 liter supercharged V6 engine with 345 hp that’s also found in the Lotus Evora.
At the moment, getting the funds lined up to start production appears to be the biggest challenge for the small brand. The company refuses to answer questions related to this subject, leaving outsiders in doubt about the company’s future. Last year, Spyker announced to issue bonds which could be converted into a B6 Ventator. The company wants to issue 100 Venator Bonds for 100,000 British Pounds each (123.000 Euro’s or 168,000 US Dollars), which have a four year term and can also be converted into cash or shares should the company be publicly listed before the end of the term.
Photo credit: Spyker
