The Spyker C12 Zagato is a limited edition, all-aluminium, mid-engine/rear-drive exotic luxury

sports car A sports car is a type of automobile that is designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as Automobile handling, handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving, and Auto racing, racing capability. Sports cars originated in ...

from

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

automobile manufacturer

Spyker Spyker or Spijker was a Dutch carriage, automobile and aircraft manufacturer, started in 1880 by blacksmiths Jacobus and Hendrik-Jan Spijker. Originally located in Hilversum, the company relocated to Trompenburg, Amsterdam in 1898. Notable produ ...

. It is based on the C12 platform, alongside the Spyker designed C12 La Turbie which debuted the previous year, and features a unique body designed with help from Italian design house

Zagato Zagato is a Coachbuilder, coachbuilding company founded by Ugo Zagato in 1919. The design center of the company is located in Terrazzano, a village near Rho, Lombardy, Italy. History The 1910s: Aeronautics Ugo Zagato was an Italians, Italian ...

On March 6, 2007, Spyker announced the C12 Zagato at the

Salon International de l'Auto The Geneva International Motor Show was an annual auto show held in March in the Swiss city of Geneva. The show was hosted at the Palexpo, a convention centre located next to the Geneva Cointrin International Airport. The Salon was organised b ...

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

. The

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

ese design house

co-designed the model. The C12 Zagato featured all-new design elements inspired by

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

. Though the exterior styling is somewhat of a departure from the C8, it retained key features of the C8 such as the

scissor doors Scissor doors (also called flap doors, wing doors, beetle-wing doors, turtle doors, switchblade doors, swing-up doors, upswing doors, Lamborghini doors, and Lambo doors) are Car door, automobile doors that rotate vertically at a fixed hinge at t ...

, interior styling, and general aviation theme. The C12 Zagato is powered by a 6.0 L W12 engine sourced from

VW Group Volkswagen AG (), known internationally as the Volkswagen Group, is a German public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of passenger and commercial vehicles, motorcycles, engines and turbomachinery. Headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony ...

(the same engine as featured in the

Audi A8 The Audi A8 is a full-size luxury vehicle, luxury sedan (car), sedan manufactured and marketed by the German automaker Audi since 1994. Succeeding the Audi V8, and now in its fourth generation, the A8 has been offered with either front-wheel dri ...

and

Volkswagen Phaeton The Volkswagen Phaeton ( ) (''Typ'' 3D) is a full-size sedan/saloon manufactured by the German automobile manufacturer Volkswagen, described by Volkswagen as their "premium class" vehicle. Introduced at the 2002 Geneva Motor Show, the Phaeton ...

). For the C12 Zagato, Spyker Cars have tuned the W12 to produce 500 PS. The C12 Zagato was to be offered with a choice of a 6-speed automatic gearbox with paddle-shifters or a traditional 6-speed manual. The Spyker C12 Zagato was priced at EUR 495,000 (approximately US$740,000 or £450,000), and Spyker planned to produce only 24 cars, with deliveries set to begin in early 2008. However, in July 2007, it was announced that C12 production was delayed, and a couple of months later in October announced that it was cancelled, as Spyker had decided to focus their resources on other models such as the C8 and the then-upcoming D8. Reportedly, only one prototype was built before production was cancelled.

Performance

The C12 Zagato develops and from the specially-tuned W12 engine. With a KERB weight of , the Spyker will accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 3.8 seconds, and then on to a top speed of . Braking is accomplished by steel ventilated discs and features

anti-lock braking An anti-lock braking system (ABS) is a Automotive safety, safety anti-Skid (automobile), skid Brake, braking system used on aircraft and on land motor vehicle, vehicles, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, and buses. ABS operates by preventing t ...

References

C12 Zagato Sports cars Coupés {{modern-auto-stub Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive vehicles