Spyker C8 Laviolette SWB

"Ornament is not a crime!"

It's intriguing how this Dutch manufacturer used Audi as a supplier for it's engine plant, the maker of the most 'Bauhaus influenced' cars.....

I'd seen a C8 Spyder when rinsing along the motorway with 'me bruv', however save from the Motorshow hadn't got this close to one before. All that I say at the start of this entry, about style being all, I say in relation to this car. The Spyker is presented as an 'objet d'art', first and foremost. It looks so wonderfully bespoke and hand furnished. Maybe some don't like the Spyker design, but I'm sure enough do. But I challenge anyone to say that it is bland and doesn't beguile the viewer.

We caught each other properly on our fourth meeting, and I also briefly spoke to the owner. Nice chap, he started her up to allow me to soak up that 'bark' and we chatted whilst I stood enchanted by that interior.

First the stats: 0-60, circa 4.4 seconds. Top speed? 190mph. 400 brake comes courtesy of an Audi sourced 4.2 litre engine. 354 lb-ft. Handmade. Bespoke luggage for the panniers.

It's fantastic to look at it; it sounds immense. It's not about having space to put the shopping from Waitrose. Or whether or not a child seat will fit. Or if the bluetooth module can take the new iPhone. No. You just wake up on a sunny-ish Sunday morning, put on some jeans and trainers, get the keys and decide to take two hours getting the weekend papers.