Dutch luxury car company Spyker has been declared bankrupt after failing to find a bridging loan while it refinanced and restructured.

Spyker, which was launched 15 years ago, filed for court protection from its creditors at the beginning of December to address ‘short-term operational and liquidity challenges’.

‘In 2000 we launched efforts to get a super sports car brand off the ground with a worldwide distribution network and that is what we have achieved,’ the Financieele Dagblad quotes chief executive Victor Muller as saying.

‘As far as I am concerned, this is not the end nor the beginning of the end,’ Muller said. Muller hopes to relaunch the brand as soon as possible, the FD says.

Spyker was briefly owner of Sweden’s Saab in 2011 and also operated a Formula One racing team for a time.