06 Mar 2007
Sutil unveils new Spyker in Switzerland
…as Mol aims for points with the F8-VII later in the season
Spyker race driver Adrian Sutil was at the Geneva International Motor Show on Tuesday to take the wraps of the Dutch company’s new C12 Zagato road car.
The exclusive machine celebrates Spyker’s entry into Formula One racing and marks the first integration of design elements and styling cues from the team’s latest F8-VII Formula One car into the firm's road car range.
“With the F1 team part of the Spyker Group it was decided that the C12 Zagato should embody as many of the Formula One design cues as practically possible so as to set a new design vision for future Spyker road car models,” commented Spyker CEO, Victor Muller.
Due to be introduced early next year, the C12 Zagato is powered by a 6-litre, W12 engine, putting out 500 horsepower, coupled to either a six-speed manual gearbox, or an automatic version with a Formula One-style shift mechanism. Its all-aluminium body features many Formula One-derived design details, including nose, air scoop, chimneys, mirrors, rain light, fuel flap and diffuser.
Joining the C12 on Spyker’s Geneva stand was their F8-VII Formula One car, carrying the newly-revised livery which the team will run with when they line up on the Melbourne grid for the first race of the season on March 18. Amid the excitement of starting their first full campaign, Michiel Mol, Spyker’s Director of Formula One Racing, was keeping a firm lid on expectations.
“We know that we’re not going to see overnight results here,” he explained. “It’s not going to be a short turn around and we have to be realistic about what we can achieve. You cannot change a team in a year, you cannot expect to have podiums in our first season.
“We have to manage those expectations; we want to aim for points in the latter part of the year. For us, 2007 will be a transition year as we’re laying the foundations for 2008. We’ll see (chief technical officer) Mike Gascoyne’s influence start to kick in mid-season so the real results of our involvement won’t be seen until next year.”
|
|
