Report: Spyker C8 Aileron Spyder trying catch up to 99 units with ZR1 power?

2010 Spyker C8 Aileron Spyder – Click above for high-res image gallery

It's been a while since we've heard anything from Spyker that didn't have to do with its acquisition of Saab. The Dutch automaker has apparently had its hands full taking the reins in Trollhattan from General Motors – so busy in fact that it has apparently missed production targets. Like with the new C8 Aileron Spyder.

The convertible version of the stretched and updated C8 debuted about a year and a half ago in Pebble Beach, and was supposed to enter production in the first half of 2010. Well, 2010 has come and gone and apparently production still hasn't started. But we do have some news.

According to reports from the company's native Netherlands, Spyker is planning on keeping the C8 Aileron Spyder very exclusive, with a production run of just 99 units. That's a mighty limited edition, but there's more: according to the same report quoting CEO Victor Muller, Spyker will be ditching the Audi-sourced 4.2-liter V8 for the 6.2-liter supercharged LS9 from the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1.

Considering that, at 638 hp, the LS9 produces over 50% more power than the 400-horse Audi mill, the commensurate drop in the previously estimated 4.5-second sprint to 60 should be well worth the work involved in turning the blown eight around and mounting it in the middle of the Spyker. Either that, or this could all amount to nothing – but the notion that the door between GM and Spyker could be swinging both ways is certainly intriguing.