Supercar set to accelerate

AMSTERDAM - Dutch sports car maker Spyker will double production to more than 100 supercars a year.

The news comes despite the maker of two-seaters that retail from around €250,000 ($491,000) reporting a 2005 net loss of €1.9 million, down 62 per cent from a year earlier.

Revenue, driven by the sale of 48 handmade cars, rose 57 per cent to €5.8 million.

Spyker fell short of its goal of selling 50 cars, but said it would double annual production to more than 100 cars in its factory in Zeewolde, east of Amsterdam, this year.

At the end of 2005 the order book had increased to 191 cars compared with 99 at the end of 2004.

Reborn in 2000 and targeting the "super-car" market niche, Spyker competes with top-end sports cars such as Bugatti, Lotus, Lamborghini, Aston Martin and Ferrari.

The original Spyker autos had competed with Rolls-Royce before going bankrupt in 1926. Spyker introduced its newest model - a mix between a sports car and SUV - at the Geneva Motor Show last month.

- REUTERS