Gumpert Apollo History

Production of the Apollo began in October 2005 at Gumpert's facility in Altenburg, Thuringia. The car was founded on a principle laid out by Roland Gumpert — former director of Audi Sport — when he first proposed the concept around 2000: it had to be fully street-legal yet instantly racetrack-ready. The chassis is a chromoly steel space frame with fibreglass or optional carbon-fibre body panels, with a quoted kerb weight of 1,100–1,200 kg depending on specification.

The Apollo's powerplant is a 4.2-litre (4,163 cc) twin-turbocharged version of Audi's V8, producing approximately 650 PS (478 kW) in base tune, 700 PS (515 kW) in Sport form, and 780–800 PS (574–588 kW) in Race specification. Drive goes to the rear wheels via a CIMA 6-speed sequential gearbox. The mid-engine layout, aggressive aerodynamics, and low weight gave the car genuine downforce — enough, in principle, to drive inverted in a tunnel at sufficient speed, as Gumpert famously claimed.

The Apollo's performance credentials were validated at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, where German magazine Sport Auto recorded a lap time of 7:11.57 — placing it among the fastest road-legal production cars of its era. On Series 11 of Top Gear, the car turned a 1:17.1 lap at the Dunsfold test track, setting a record that stood for two years until the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport eclipsed it. Only 44 units were produced across the model's 2005–2012 run before Gumpert filed for bankruptcy in August 2013.