Spyker C4 All Weather Coupe
The reliability and luxurious design of the C4 earned the Spyker the accolade in England of ‘Rolls-Royce of the Continent’.
This Spyker C4 is upholstered in simulated snakeskin. The luggage rack has a jagged edge to discourage mischievous little boys from hitching a ride on the back. The car is powered by a 5.7-litre, six-cylinder engine by the German zeppelin and motorcar manufacturer Maybach. The engine has an additional two-speed cooling fan. This car was fitted with four-wheel brakes, which was a novelty at the time. Note that there are four spare wheels on the running boards, and a wing mirror, which was also unusual. The number plate shows a G-registration for the Dutch province of Noord-Holland.
Selwyn Francis Edge, who set the 24-hour speed record at Brooklands in 1907 with a Napier which is also on display in the museum, returned to Brooklands in 1922, but this time with a Spyker C4 for the ‘Double Twelve’. It was no longer possible to race at Brooklands at night because the track was situated in a residential area, so the record attempt was held in two stints of 12 hours each. Edge set a new speed record with the Spyker, covering a total distance of 2,860 kilometres at an average speed of nearly 120 km/h.