Spyker F8-VII
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| Category | Formula One | ||||||||||
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| Constructor | Spyker/Force India | ||||||||||
| Designer(s) | John McQuilliam (Chief Designer/Technical Director) Mike Gascoyne (Chief Technical Officer) Mark Smith (Design Director) James Key (Technical Director) |
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| Predecessor | Midland M16 | ||||||||||
| Successor | Force India VJM02 | ||||||||||
| Technical specifications | |||||||||||
| Chassis | Carbon-fibre and honeycomb composite monocoque | ||||||||||
| Suspension (front) | Unequal length composite wishbones | ||||||||||
| Suspension (rear) | Unequal length composite wishbones | ||||||||||
| Length | 5,000 mm (197 in) | ||||||||||
| Width | 1,800 mm (71 in) | ||||||||||
| Height | 950 mm (37 in) | ||||||||||
| Axle track | Front: 1,480 mm (58 in) Rear: 1,418 mm (56 in) |
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| Wheelbase | More than 3,000 mm (118 in) | ||||||||||
| Engine | Ferrari 056H 2400cc V8, naturally aspirated, mid-engine, longitudinally mounted | ||||||||||
| Transmission | Spyker/Ferrari 7 forward + 1 reverse Longitudinal with electrohydraulic sequential gear change | ||||||||||
| Power | 750 hp (559 kW) @ 17000 rpm | ||||||||||
| Fuel | Shell | ||||||||||
| Tyres | Bridgestone Potenza | ||||||||||
| Competition history | |||||||||||
| Notable entrants |
Etihad Aldar Spyker F1 Team Force India F1 Team |
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| Notable drivers | 20.  Adrian Sutil21.  Christijan Albers21. Markus Winkelhock21.  Sakon Yamamoto21.  Giancarlo Fisichella
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| Debut | 2007 Australian Grand Prix | ||||||||||
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The Spyker F8-VII (subsequently known as the Force India VJM01) was a Formula One car, constructed by Spyker F1 that competed in the 2007 Formula One World Championship. A "B Specification" car named the Spyker F8-VIIB was launched at the Italian Grand Prix and used for the remainder of the 2007 season. For the 2008 World Championship, Force India used a slightly modified version of the F8-VIIB, called the Force India VJM01 named after team owners Vijay Mallya, Jan Mol and Michiel Mol. The F8-VII was the only car constructed by Spyker F1 in their own right after their take-over from the struggling Midland F1 team part way through 2006.
The F8-VII was described by the team as a solid base on which to build, as they had a relatively short period of time to produce the new F1 car. James Key, the technical director of Spyker F1, said, "We also tried to second guess as best we could what the 2007 tyres were going to do, and we worked hard on aero, which is of course always the fundamental thing. That way we could concentrate all our efforts on performance related areas."
The car was not competitive and scored only one point.
Remarkably for an unsuccessful car, in his only ever race, Marcus Winkelhock started last at the European Grand Prix at the Nürburgring but after getting his tactics right at the start of the wet race (by changing tyres after the warm up lap), Winkelhock found himself leading the race with a 33-second lead after just two laps due to most of the field either pitting for wet tyres or spinning off. The race was stopped due to the dangerous conditions. Winkelhock officially led the race for 7 laps but as the conditions improved following the restart, he slid down the field in his uncompetitive car and eventually retired after 15 laps.
Going against the trend originally started by Jordan Grand Prix and continued by Midland F1, the new car's naming designation relates directly to Spyker's heritage as a car and aircraft manufacturer. When the Dutch company started trading at the beginning of the 20th century it launched car models named A, B and C. When Spyker CEO Victor Muller resurrected the Spyker name in 2000 he wanted to build on that strong history.
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