Spyker

Spyker 60-HP Four-Wheel Drive

The Spyker 60HP, presented in 1903 but probably built in 1902, is the first car in the world with a six cylinder engine and the first gasoline car with four wheel drive and a four wheel braking system. That makes this Spyker 60 HP one of the most important cars in automotive history.

Built to race

The Spyker 60HP is built on behalf of Jacobus Spijker to take part in the Paris-Madrid road race. The design process progresses with difficulty until the young Belgian engineer Joseph Valentin Laviolette gets involved. Newly appointed at Spyker, Laviolette already has a design ready for an engine with six separate cylinders and successfully puts it into practice.

Blackpool & Birmingham races

However, the car was not ready in time for the race and was only unveiled in Paris in December 1903. Two months later it was on display at an exhibition in Londons Crystal Palace. The car would hardly take part in any races. Only two races are known in which the Spyker 60HP competed, both in England. One was the Blackpool races in Blackpool (1904), where it finished in third place, and the other was in Birmingham in 1906, which it won.

Complete restoration

In the early nineteen twenties the Spyker was restored in an unskilled manner and, after Spyker’s final bankruptcy, ended up in the hands of a former director. From 1953 to 1993 the car, fitted with a heavily modified body, was displayed in various Dutch museums, after which it was acquired by the Louwman Museum. Following a five year restoration, the car is now in the same condition as when it was shown at Crystal Palace in 1904.

Experience this masterpiece up close

Dont wait another moment to see this masterpiece in real life. Plan your visit to the Louwman Museum!