Looking for something very fast and extremely rare? This is your ultimate (dream)car: a Spyker C8 Double 12S with chassis number 008, kept by Spyker Cars founder Victor Muller himself for many years… In his own office! That explains the exceptional low mileage: only 875 kilometers were driven with the street legal test version of the C8 Double 12R Le Mans racer. But the best is yet to come. Because this is the ONLY “homologation” model powered by a 4.0 liter BMW V8-race engine! Thanks to the Swiss engineer Henri Mader, it now delivers 450 HP and 425 Nm torque. More than most non-racing drivers could handle. How about you?

History / background
In the early 00s Spyker decided to give its image literally a boost by joining Le Mans: one of the world’s most legendary race events. An extended, aerodynamical improved long wheelbase version of the C8 Laviolette set the base for a Spyker model in the GT2 race series. It was called C8 Double 12R, named after Selwyn Edge: a business man and famous recordholder of the 24-hour race (which included 2 speed tests, that’s why it’s called Double 12) back in 1922, driven in a Spyker C4.
To compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, there’s a rule that the manufacturer has to build 25 street legal homologation models of the exact same car. But Spyker made a special deal with the racing organization, because that was impossible to do for the small Dutch brand. After all, Spyker discovered soon that the first Double 12R-versions with 4.2 liter Audi-V8 and 400 HP weren’t powerful enough to win races. So the manufacturer hired Henri Mader to get the maximum out of an BMW-V8. One test model was born, next to the 15 street legal Spyker-Audi cars. And that’s this specific one. No wonder Mr. Muller was attached to it for so long!

Interior / exterior
Since the Spyker C8 Double 12S isn’t an official homologation model, there’s lots of room for luxury you won’t find in a real racer. Literally, thanks to its larger bodywork. The beautiful leather upholstery and aluminum finish, for example, would perfectly suit a Laviolette or Spyder as well. Even the suspension feels comfortable, compared to the hardcore Double 12R. However, fortunately for the fans there’s lots of race-DNA in this Spyker too…

Engine / performance
To begin with the bad news: the BMW-V8 in the Double 12S “only” runs 7500 RPM max, instead of the magic 10000 RPM in the Double 12R. But the good news is: the output is still the same. This means that the 8-cylinder beast by Henri Mader produces 450 HP and 425 Nm torque! Enough to go way beyond a top speed of 300 km/h. The question is: are you ready for this one-off piece of art in luxurious race trim?

The car has a valid Dutch registration and comes with APK (like MOT/TUV/CT).