Spyker liquidating assets doesn't bode well

If there's any company that's faced some ups and downs, surely it's Spyker. The Dutch coachbuilder originally started out in 1880 and shut down in 1926, laying dormant until resurfacing in 1999. Things were going alright until Spyker tried running its own F1 team (which as fellow niche European sports car manufacturers Caterham and Marussia could tell you, is not a good idea) then set its sights on Saab. Of course we all know how that turned out and nearly drove the company into bankruptcy.

Now Spyker is back to its core business with plans for a new model, but it appears that its past troubles are not behind it quite yet. Reports from the Netherlands indicate that local tax authorities have quite the bill to settle with Spyker, forcing the Dutch automaker to auction off some of its assets.

Among those items being auctioned off to settle Spyker's debts are a 2007 Spyker-Ferrari F8-VII grand prix car, a C8 sports racer, a handful of new C8 Ailerons, a rare D12 Peking-to-Paris SUV concept (which may or may not finally reach production some day) and a stockpile of 85 Audi V8 engines and transmissions.

The sale represents a unique opportunity for collectors, but while our Dutch compatriots at Autoblog.nl cite Spyker sources as refuting any association between the auction and a potentially looming bankruptcy, it doesn't appear to speak well of the company's financial wellbeing.