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Performance, SUV, Geneva Motor Show, Spyker

It’s been two-and-a-half years since the Spyker D12 Peking-to-Paris SSUV debuted at the Geneva Motor Show, and although the recent spate of spy shots indicate work is well underway, Spyker won’t make its self-imposed release date this year.

Instead, the high-speed luxo-’ute will likely appear at next year’s Geneva expo and when it does, it will like drop its “D12″ moniker for “D8″ thanks to the supercharged V8 lying under its sculpted hood.

Coinciding with earlier reports, Spyker plans to utilize an American-sourced V8 to power the D8 SSUV, and if Autoblog.nl’s sleuthing abilities are to be believed, it’s none other than General Motor’s supercharged 6.2-liter LSA – the mill that powers the Cadillac CTS-V.

The Dutch site caught the same Land Rover mule we saw earlier this year, and after investigating the prototype’s license plate, discovered the engine met the same specifications as the LSA. That would mean at least 550 hp and 550 lb-ft of torque, which should allow the SSUV to hit 60 mph in around five seconds and max out around 174 mph. If all goes according to plan, we’ll see the production version in Geneva this March with sales beginning later in 2010.

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Although news of the A-BAT’s imminent arrival was circulating as early as February, Toyota’s decision to put the project on hold doesn’t come as a surprise. With auto sales down overall – and pick-ups being hit particularly hard in the last year – the business case for a compact, hybrid truck would be hard to justify.

Originally, it was assumed the A-BAT would be sold as a Scion, but with the “youth” brand’s renewed focus on smaller vehicles (ala the Scion iQ concept that debuted at the New York Auto Show), a pick-up would be in stark contrast to the rest of the line-up.

“The market has changed dramatically over the last 12 months.” Carter told Pickuptrucks.com, “We always keep reprioritizing – under good economic or recessionary times – what our planning is. [For now, the A-BAT is] on the shelf.”