Spyker Cars Is Back With Russian Oligarch's Money

SMP Racing owner Boris Rotenberg and partners have bought a stake in floundering Spyker.

According to a report from Autocar, long-suffering Dutch automaker Spyker finally has a financial lifeline thanks to billionaire SMP Racing owner and construction magnate Boris Rotenberg. Spyker has been struggling for years to line up the funding to build the C8 Preliator car shown at Geneva way back in 2016, and the topless Spyder variant revealed soon after. Spyker also hopes to build the B6 Venator and D8 Peking-to-Paris SUV with the new line of funding, according to Autocar, and even re-enter the racing scene.

Rotenberg and his brother built their wealth through an infrastructure company known as the SGM Group, and through close connections to Russian President Vladimir Putin. SMP Racing takes its name from the bank they own, SMP Bank, which was founded in 2001 and is now a major bank in Russia. Its SMP Racing offshoot fields cars in various FIA Le Mans Prototype racing classes. While the Rotenbergs have been previously targeted with U.S. sanctions due to conflict in Ukraine, with further sanctions targeting their family in 2018, it hasn't seemed to slow them down very much.

Will this be the break Spyker needs? We found the C8 Preliator to be an interesting evolution of Spyker's aviation-inspired themes, but remember that the company has only produced two models since being founded in 2000—with the C8 Aileron and C12 seeing very limited production. The company has had a number of high-profile deals fall through recently, from the failed acquisition of Saab to an engine deal with Koenigsegg that imploded. Perhaps the Rotenberg funding will prove more enduring.