Apollo Automobil (previously known as Gumpert Sportwagenmanufaktur) is a German

sports car A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...

manufacturer headquartered in Denkendorf. Roland Gumpert, who founded Gumpert Sportwagenmanufaktur in 2004, once held the position of director of

Audi Sport {{Commons category, World Rally Championship teams World Rally Championship, Teams Auto racing teams by series ...

. Under his management, Audi won a total of 25

World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is the highest level of global competition in the motorsport discipline of rallying, owned and governed by the FIA. There are separate championships for drivers, co-drivers, manufacturers and t ...

rallies and four World Rally Championship titles.

History

In 2001, Roland Gumpert proposed a new generation of

, one that would be race-ready yet also street-legal. After Gumpert returned to Germany from China at the end of 2001, his former colleague at

Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. Th ...

and founder of Motoren Technik Mayer, Roland Meyer, asked him to assist in building a prototype sports car. Audi approved Gumpert's involvement in this project on the condition that the new sports car would be a series product and not a

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...

. The company was founded in 2004 under the name "GMG Sportwagenmanufaktur Altenburg GmbH". The technical guidelines were defined and the first designs of the car were drawn by Marco Vanetta. Upon Vanetta's completion of this process, the first 1:4

scale model A scale model is a physical model which is geometrically similar to an object (known as the prototype). Scale models are generally smaller than large prototypes such as vehicles, buildings, or people; but may be larger than small prototypes ...

of Gumpert's car was produced in 2002. Gumpert continued with the development of the car now called the

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

, along with the

Technical University of Munich The Technical University of Munich (TUM or TU Munich; german: Technische Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and applied and natural sciences. Establis ...

and the Ingolstadt University of Applied Sciences. They assisted him with the construction work,

computer simulations Computer simulation is the process of mathematical modelling, performed on a computer, which is designed to predict the behaviour of, or the outcome of, a real-world or physical system. The reliability of some mathematical models can be dete ...

, and wind tunnel tests. This research and development helped form the blueprint for the first full-scale model. Finally two prototype cars were constructed. The production of the Apollo started in October 2005. Many variants of the Apollo were introduced throughout its production cycle. On July 27, 2008, an Apollo Sport was featured on the UK automotive show ''

Top Gear Top Gear may refer to: * "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission Television * ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme * ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the or ...

''. One of the presenters,

Richard Hammond Richard Mark Hammond (born 19 December 1969) is an English journalist, television presenter, mechanic, and writer. He is best known for co-hosting the BBC Two motoring programme ''Top Gear'' from 2002 until 2015 with Jeremy Clarkson and Jame ...

and professional driver

the Stig The Stig is a character from the British motoring television show ''Top Gear''. Created by former ''Top Gear'' presenter Jeremy Clarkson and producer Andy Wilman, the character is a play on the anonymity of racing drivers' full-face helmets, wit ...

drove the car. With a lap time of 1:17.1, the Apollo Sport became the new leader on the Power Lap Board, 0.2 seconds faster than the former lap leader, the

Ascari A10 The Ascari A10 is a prototype automobile produced by the British company Ascari Cars that was conceived by Dutch millionaire Klaas Zwart. It is a road-going evolution of the KZ1-R GT race car that participated in the Spanish GT Championship, wit ...

. The Apollo was faster than the

Bugatti Veyron The Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4 is a mid-engine sports car, designed and developed in Germany by the Volkswagen Group and Bugatti and manufactured in Molsheim, France, by French automobile manufacturer Bugatti. It was named after the racing driver Pie ...

and the

Pagani Zonda The Pagani Zonda is a mid-engine sports car produced by the Italian sports car manufacturer Pagani. It debuted at the 1999 Geneva Motor Show. By 2019, a total of 140 cars had been built, including development mules. Both 2-door coupé and roa ...

around the ''Top Gear'' test track. It was later beaten with a time of 01:16.8 by the

Bugatti Veyron Super Sport The Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4 is a mid-engine sports car, designed and developed in Germany by the Volkswagen Group and Bugatti and manufactured in Molsheim, France, by French automobile manufacturer Bugatti. It was named after the racing driver P ...

. In 2011, the company introduced a concept car in collaboration with

Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera is an Italian automobile coachbuilder. Originally established in Milan in 1925, Carrozzeria Touring became well known for both the beauty of its designs and patented superleggera construction methods. The bus ...

, the Gumpert Tornante. The car was not put into production. In August 2013, the company filed for bankruptcy and went into liquidation after an anonymous backer pulled out of a deal that could have saved the company. In January 2016, the company was purchased by Hong Kong consortium Ideal Team Venture which is also owner of the

De Tomaso De Tomaso Automobili ltd. (previously known as De Tomaso Modena SpA) is an Italian car-manufacturing company. It was founded by the Argentine-born Alejandro de Tomaso (1928–2003) in Modena in 1959. It originally produced various prototypes a ...

marque. The company was renamed Apollo Automobil GmbH after the acquisition by its new owner. Apollo Arrow (51)

At the March 2016

Geneva Motor Show The Geneva International Motor Show is an annual auto show held in March in the Swiss city of Geneva. The show is hosted at the Palexpo, a convention centre located next to the Geneva Cointrin International Airport. The Salon is organised by th ...

, Apollo unveiled the

Arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...

, a sports car that is powered by a

twin-turbocharged Twin-turbo (not to be confused with a twincharger setup, which is a combination of a supercharger and a turbocharger) refers to an engine in which two turbochargers work in tandem to compress the intake fuel/air mixture (or intake air, in the case ...

4.0-litre

V8 engine A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. The first V8 engine was produced by the French Antoinette company in 1904, developed and us ...

rated at . The Arrow can accelerate from 0–100 km/h (62 mph) in 2.9 seconds, and has a projected top speed of . Apollo IE on track 2

In November 2016, the company announced that former owner and founder Roland Gumpert was no longer associated with the company or its current or future projects and also announced a new model (project name ‘Titan’) would be unveiled at the June 2017

Goodwood Festival of Speed The Goodwood Festival of Speed is an annual motorsports festival featuring modern and historic motor racing vehicles taking part in a hillclimbing, hill climb and other events, held in the grounds of Goodwood House, West Sussex, England, in l ...

. The new model is named Intensa Emozione (Intense Emotion in Italian) and is powered by the 6.3 L naturally-aspirated

V12 engine A V12 engine is a twelve-cylinder piston engine where two banks of six cylinders are arranged in a V configuration around a common crankshaft. V12 engines are more common than V10 engines. However, they are less common than V8 engines. The fi ...

. The car has radical styling inspired by insects in nature. The Intensa Emozione is built in collaboration with HWA AG, the same company involved in the construction of the

Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR The Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR (C297) is a GT1 sports car built and produced by Mercedes-Benz in conjunction with their then motorsport partner AMG. Intended for racing in the new FIA GT Championship series in 1997, the CLK GTR was designed primar ...

Development partners

Apollo collaborated with several business and technical partners, including the following: * Autotecnica Motori (engine development) * Apollo Germany Limited (paints and repairs) * ATS Group (development and production of wheels) * BFFT (automotive electronics) * Bosch Group (automobile components and systems, including ABS and

TCS TCS may refer to: Organisations * Tata Consultancy Services, an IT company headquartered in India * Taxpayers for Common Sense, a US nonpartisan federal budget watchdog organization * TCS Courier, a Pakistani courier service * Touring Club Suisse ...

) * BREMBO (brakes) * Eibach (sports

chassis A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of an artificial object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpart ...

development) * HS Genion (

automotive engineering Automotive engineering, along with aerospace engineering and naval architecture, is a branch of vehicle engineering, incorporating elements of mechanical, electrical, electronic, software, and safety engineering as applied to the design, manufactu ...

) * KBF Kabelbaumfertigung (the Apollo's cabling, measuring 4.2 km) * KW Automotive (sport

suspension Suspension or suspended may refer to: Science and engineering * Suspension (topology), in mathematics * Suspension (dynamical systems), in mathematics * Suspension of a ring, in mathematics * Suspension (chemistry), small solid particles suspend ...

systems) * Mero TSK (

Mengeringhausen Mengeringhausen is a village and a municipal district of Bad Arolsen in Waldeck-Frankenberg, in Hesse, Germany. Its population is estimated to be 3,800 people. The was first mentioned as the town 'Stadt Mengeringhausen' in 1234. The town was in p ...

tube system) * Pirelli (road and racing tyres) * TRW ( active and passive vehicle safety systems) * Technical University of Munich (virtual

prototyping A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and software programming. A prototype is generally used to ...

, vibration technology and driver-vehicle interaction) * WIDOS ( welding plastic tubing and moulded parts) * Contrust (optimized risk management) * Evolution MotorSports (US development partner and distribution) * GTE Engineering (development and production of kevlar clutch facing) * HWA AG (development and final details for the Intensa Emozione)

Motorsport

During April 2005, the Apollo made its racing debut in the Divinol Cup. This Apollo was driven by the Belgian race driver Ruben Maes. Maes finished third on the

Hockenheimring The Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg () is a motor racing circuit situated in the Rhine valley near the town of Hockenheim in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located on the Bertha Benz Memorial Route. Amongst other motor racing events, it has hos ...

race track. Three years later Gumpert announced that they would enter a

hybrid electric A hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) is a type of hybrid vehicle that combines a conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) system with an Electric motor, electric propulsion system (hybrid vehicle drivetrain). The presence of the electric powertr ...

version of the Apollo in the 2008

24 Hours Nürburgring 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

, driven by 2004 winner Dirk Müller and former

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

racer

Heinz-Harald Frentzen Heinz-Harald Frentzen (born 18 May 1967) is a German former racing driver. He competed in multiple disciplines including Sportscars, Formula One and DTM. He had his most success in Formula One, entering over 150 Grands Prix and winning three. ...

. Three months passed between the first discussions and the finished hybrid Apollo. The Apollo was driven in the 24 Hours Nürburgring in May 2008. The hybrid Apollo can deliver up to , powered with a 3.3 litre V8 bi-turbo engine coupled with a electric motor. The car has the ability to recharge the battery under braking.

References

* *

External links

* {{Automotive industry in Germany Car manufacturers of Germany Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Germany Sports car manufacturers Companies based in Thuringia Altenburg Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 2004 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 2013 Privately held companies of Germany German brands Car brands German companies established in 2004 German companies disestablished in 2013

History

Development partners

Motorsport

See also

References

External links