#068 - C8 Double 12S - Gray-Tan - In China

[bucciali]

Our famous Chinese C8 Double 12 S with LaTurbie looks! It deserves its own thread, especially now that a factory visit, plus the EenVandaag video have confirmed that a Chinese customer did not want a 'regular' Double 12S.

[bucciali]

And some more recent pictures

We don't have much more pics of this car unfortunately....
EDIT: There are a few more now :-)

[bucciali]

And of course, the chinese video, where the small pics shared earlier come from. No exciting sounds though

1. The C8 Double 12 I wrote about earlier with some "unique" features

+ YouTube Video

[Wouter]

Its a beautiful creation. Thanks for posting the extra pictures!

[Laviolette GT2R]

While creating the Double 12 thread, Bucciali and I dug through tons of pictures from factory visits and we found some interesting ones of the La Turbie / Double 12 with La Turbie features.


The first set of pictures was taken on 9 februari 2006. The first picture shows the La Turbie prototype with an engine.

nyh8y9.jpg

I’m not that technical but it looks like a standard Audi V8 engine and not the Audi W12 engine. The propellor steeringwheel is replaced in favour of the roadlegal Lotus steeringwheel and a two vent aircosystem has been fitted. The double twin exhaustsystem has yet to be finished.


On the next picture you can just see the typical Double 12 structure that holds the springs. In the first picture this part was not fitted yet.

nzqe4x.jpg

In the right lower corner of this picture you can see the rear bodywork of this car.


In my opinion it seems that this first set of pictures shows that this La Turbie prototype was transferred into a roadgoing La Turbie.


The rear part of the chassis looks similar to that of a Double 12. Figures from a brochure suggests that the wheelbase of the La Turbie is 2580mm. For comparison: The wheelbases of a Double 12 and C8 SWB model are 2675mm and 2575mm respectively. So the wheelbase of the La Turbie is closer to that of a C8 SWB model than to that of a C8 Double 12.
I tried to make a photo comparison between the wheelbase of these models:

comparison C12 - LWB.jpg Comparison C12 - SWB.jpg

Picture on the left: The upperpart is from the La Turbie #055, the lower part is of Double 12 #126.

Picture on the right: The upperpart is from the La Turbie #055, the lower part is of Laviolette #172.

Although these findings are not 100% conclusive because the angle from which the pictures were taken is not exactly the same, my guess is that this first La Turbie prototype was build on a Double 12 chassis.


The second photo set of the La Turbie was made quite some time after the first set, which makes me believe that it was not still in the factory but again in the factory for some upgrades.

One of these refinements was the installation of a state of the art audio system.

GroteFoto-3OQNATFQ.jpg

In this picture you can see the La Turbie, without the leather cones behind the rollbars but with three speakers installed instead.


It also has the prope(llo)r steeringwheel refitted. There seems to be a non-standard little metal plate on top of the A-pillars, probably needed to fit a roof…

On a sidenote: Double 12 #200 can be seen in the right upper corner.


On the next picture you can see the modelname on the dooropening.

GroteFoto-MLJGVRAE.jpg

If you zoom in you will notice that it says: “Spyker C8 Double 12S” instead of Spyker C12 La Turbie… Hereby indicating that this La Turbie was eventually transformed to a Double 12, keeping its La Turbie features.

[Laviolette GT2R]

The third photo set was probably taken in april 2007. On this picture we can see, for the first time, that it has a roof!

2706331430072955044IMbwlS_fs.jpg

On top of the metal rack you can see the cover with the three speakers.


On the next photo, you can see the rearwindow on another metal rack. It does not have the ventilation slots and is similar to that of the rearwindows of Double 12's #040 and #055, two Double 12's that were also converted from Spyders into closed top Double 12's. These are the only ones to have these windows.

2402036670072955044frBTHg_fs.jpg

Although the rearwindow is similar, the roof itself is different from the earlier mentioned #040 and #055. These have removable hardtops that lock on the A-pillars. This Double 12 with La turbie features has a roof fixed on the A-pillars, it's not removable.


The fourth photo set was taken on 31 may 2007. On this picture, the rear bodywork is in place again, the propellor wheels have also been fitted again.

2051718940083981776FtolDW_fs.jpg


On the last photograph of this set we can get a glimpse of the VIN plate.

2475785780083981776miwDlz_fs.jpg

Although the full VIN number can not be seen, I suspect it to end with 055, the same last three digits as the La Turbie prototype.


On a sidenote: If this La Turbie prototype was eventually converted into a roadgoing Double 12 and it's transformation started before the blue La Turbie showed up, it can only mean that the blue La Turbie was a different car...

[Wouter]

Impressive investigation Laviolette GT2R.

You should chance your profession and become an investigation journalist .

The three installed speakers confirm what the salesman in the "Spyker in Beijing" video said.

[/QUOTE]Een Vandaag[/QUOTE]

[Laviolette GT2R]

Originally Posted by Wouter

Impressive investigation Laviolette GT2R.

You should chance your profession and become an investigation journalist .

Thanx, I would love to !

[bucciali]

@LavioletteGT2R: Very nice write-up! Thumbs up!

On a sidenote: If this La Turbie prototype was eventually converted into a roadgoing Double 12 and it's transformation started before the blue La Turbie showed up, it can only mean that the blue La Turbie was a different car...

This is a very, very interesting observation.

[AX lover]

Very interesting!