SpykerC8Laviolette

Spyker C8 Laviolette GT2-R - Click above for high-res image gallery

Spyker may have dropped out of Formula One, but they haven't lost that competitive spirit. Even before selling its F1 team to Kingfisher's Vijay Mallya, who rechristened the squad as Force India, Spyker was fielding the race-prepped sports cars in the GT2 category, The C8 Laviolette GT2-R (pictured above) has been their weapon of choice, in turn yielding the road-worthy LM85 which debuted at last year's Los Angeles show. But the niche Dutch automaker is reportedly preparing to step into the big leagues.

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Spyker C8 Laviolette LM85

The Spyker C8 Laviolette LM85, which we'll call "Tiger," is officially out and about. Spyker has released more images of the Audi-engined, 400-hp, 6-speed manual Le Mans-inspired road car, and to our eyes it could be the best looking Spyker we've seen. The blacked-out mirrors do it a lot of favors and don't remind us any more of carry handles, and it has even retained 19-inch wheels secured with one lug nut and will apparently get you a combined 15 mpg on the EPA cycle. Not bad for a leathered up race car. Check out the press release after the jump and the galleries of high-res shots in our galleries below.

Take your exotic sports car and put it in a room with its racing counterpart. Put on some R&B, dim the lights and wait nine months. It's a winning formula that has worked for some of the world's best automakers and resulted in such stunning performance vehicles as the Ferrari 430 Scuderia, Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera, Aston Martin DBS and Porsche 911 GT3 RS, to name just a few. Now Spyker is getting ready to cue up the Barry White with the upcoming LM 85.