Spyker's D12 Peking-to-Paris: The Luxury SUV That Came Too Soon

Picture the current crop of ultra-luxury SUVs. Bentley’s Bentayga, Lamborghini’s Urus, Aston Martin’s DBX, Rolls-Royce’s Cullinan and even Ferrari’s Purosangue all command six-figure sums and boast outputs approaching or surpassing 700 horsepower. Buyers barely blink at another one.

Yet two decades ago, Dutch automaker Spyker tried exactly that formula and found the market utterly unprepared. The D12 Peking-to-Paris packed exotic styling, a premium price and grand touring ambition into a high-riding package long before the segment exploded. Rather than a triumph, the venture became a cautionary tale about timing.

What the industry now treats as a safe bet was once a gamble that few were willing to take. Spyker’s early attempt shows how much a vehicle’s fate can hinge on the appetite of the moment rather than the merits of the machine itself.