It doesn't get much more hard-core than the Gumpert Apollo. The German supercar is about as close as it gets to a race car for the road. But an outfit like Gumpert isn't about to sit around and let its product speak for itself. You can count on it taking the extreme to an even further extreme, and that's exactly what it's done here at the Geneva Motor Show with not one, but two new versions of the Apollo.
What you're looking at above is called the Apollo Enraged, which Gumpert calls the most powerful street-legal car ever to leave its factory. Limited to just three examples, the Apollo Enraged ups the output from its Audi-sourced supercharged 4.2-liter V8 to 780 horsepower and trims weight down to 1,175 kg. Further details are scarce, but the vehicle looks positively scary.
Joining it on the Gumpert show stand is the Apollo R (above right), a customer racing version that, while not street-legal, packs a whopping 860 horsepower. Burdened by just 1,100 kg of dry weight, the Apollo R promises to be just as devastating on whatever track it's driven as the hybrid prototype that Heinz-Harald Frentzen campaigned at the Nürburgring 24-hour race in 2008.
Both models pack more wings than a Boeing factory and "Pure German Speed" decals that would still raise a few eyebrows in parts of Eastern Europe, but are, in typical Gumpert style, positively menacing. Look below for the full press release, and scope out the live and official images in our collection of galleries for a closer look.
What you're looking at above is called the Apollo Enraged, which Gumpert calls the most powerful street-legal car ever to leave its factory. Limited to just three examples, the Apollo Enraged ups the output from its Audi-sourced supercharged 4.2-liter V8 to 780 horsepower and trims weight down to 1,175 kg. Further details are scarce, but the vehicle looks positively scary.
Joining it on the Gumpert show stand is the Apollo R (above right), a customer racing version that, while not street-legal, packs a whopping 860 horsepower. Burdened by just 1,100 kg of dry weight, the Apollo R promises to be just as devastating on whatever track it's driven as the hybrid prototype that Heinz-Harald Frentzen campaigned at the Nürburgring 24-hour race in 2008.
Both models pack more wings than a Boeing factory and "Pure German Speed" decals that would still raise a few eyebrows in parts of Eastern Europe, but are, in typical Gumpert style, positively menacing. Look below for the full press release, and scope out the live and official images in our collection of galleries for a closer look.
Gumpert celebrates two world premieres in Geneva
In the past, the sports car manufacturer GUMPERT has mainly been known for building race cars for the street. At the 82nd Geneva International Motor Show, the exclusive manufacturer premieres the GUMPERT apollo r, a purebred race car with the brute thrust of up to 860 hp. As the second world premiere, GUMPERT presents the special edition GUMPERT apollo enraged.
"Race cars are not entirely new to us," says Roland Gumpert about the latest model from Altenburg. "After all, we competed in the 24h at the 'Nürburgring' race course with Heinz-Harald Frentzen in a hybrid apollo in 2008." Increased demand, especially from Asia, has now prompted the company to offer a pure race car in addition to the street legal apollo and apollo s models. "Many of our customers are driving their apollo on the racecourse, usually during track days or private events. With the apollo r, we allow ambitious drivers among them to participate in open GT events," continues the manager of the manufacturing company.
Numerous modifications were required to extract up to 860 hp from the 4.2 litre V8 engine. These include a higher supercharging pressure, ignition and control time adjustments, optimisation of the intake air ducts and a special racing exhaust system. Of course maximum performance depends on the use of racing fuel with correspondingly high octane levels. In view of the planned deployment in Asia and the expected temperatures, the engine and transmission cooling system was also enhanced. The spur-toothed dog ring transmission is controlled by rocker switches on the steering wheel but without a clutch pedal. A central digital dashboard supplies the driver with essential information. Otherwise all frills were removed from the interior of the apollo r.
To bring all this brute force to the pavement, the chassis which already set standards was extended with a titanium blade stabiliser on the rear axle. Numerous optimisation measures, for example on milled parts, the wiring harness and undercarriage, as well as eliminating comfort components such as the boot, allowed the charge weight (empty tank) to be reduced to 1,100 kg. "The apollo r is more powerful and lighter than any other apollo. Since we are not necessarily known for understatement, we also decided to put this superiority on display with correspondingly striking foils on the apollo r," is how Roland Gumpert describes his race car. At the exhibition stand in Geneva, the apollo r presents itself in a black-red-gold foil
dress. The driver and passenger doors are each graced by a griffin, a cross between an eagle and lion and therefore the lord of the air as well as the earth.
As the heraldic animal of the sports car manufacturer GUMPERT, the griffon also decorates the distinctive swing doors of the apollo enraged. The mythical creature is part of the designer paintjob and foils that visually emphasise the link between the enraged and the apollo r. "Even though the apollo enraged is street legal, it nevertheless carries the racing sports genes of the apollo r," is how Roland Gumpert describes the limited special edition. This genetic connection becomes tangible through a performance boost to 780 hp and a reduction of the dry weight to 1,175 kg. Next to the flag design embroidery on the seat and headrest, the digital LCD instrument panel is the most noticeable special feature on the interior.
"Ok, so perhaps it is a bit crazy to take the most extreme, barely still street legal vehicle and make it even more extreme," says Roland Gumpert about the limited special edition enraged – the unleashed and furious apollo. "But the idea behind the enraged, just like the apollo r itself, embodies our philosophy and our understanding of PURE GERMAN SPEED with absolute consistency." GUMPERT intends to prove just how well, or how fast, the two vehicles actually realise this philosophy with another record time on the "Nordschleife" race course this year. And as in 2009 when breaking the record for the first time, GUMPERT will approach this together with its tyre supplier and technology partner Michelin.
In the past, the sports car manufacturer GUMPERT has mainly been known for building race cars for the street. At the 82nd Geneva International Motor Show, the exclusive manufacturer premieres the GUMPERT apollo r, a purebred race car with the brute thrust of up to 860 hp. As the second world premiere, GUMPERT presents the special edition GUMPERT apollo enraged.
"Race cars are not entirely new to us," says Roland Gumpert about the latest model from Altenburg. "After all, we competed in the 24h at the 'Nürburgring' race course with Heinz-Harald Frentzen in a hybrid apollo in 2008." Increased demand, especially from Asia, has now prompted the company to offer a pure race car in addition to the street legal apollo and apollo s models. "Many of our customers are driving their apollo on the racecourse, usually during track days or private events. With the apollo r, we allow ambitious drivers among them to participate in open GT events," continues the manager of the manufacturing company.
Numerous modifications were required to extract up to 860 hp from the 4.2 litre V8 engine. These include a higher supercharging pressure, ignition and control time adjustments, optimisation of the intake air ducts and a special racing exhaust system. Of course maximum performance depends on the use of racing fuel with correspondingly high octane levels. In view of the planned deployment in Asia and the expected temperatures, the engine and transmission cooling system was also enhanced. The spur-toothed dog ring transmission is controlled by rocker switches on the steering wheel but without a clutch pedal. A central digital dashboard supplies the driver with essential information. Otherwise all frills were removed from the interior of the apollo r.
To bring all this brute force to the pavement, the chassis which already set standards was extended with a titanium blade stabiliser on the rear axle. Numerous optimisation measures, for example on milled parts, the wiring harness and undercarriage, as well as eliminating comfort components such as the boot, allowed the charge weight (empty tank) to be reduced to 1,100 kg. "The apollo r is more powerful and lighter than any other apollo. Since we are not necessarily known for understatement, we also decided to put this superiority on display with correspondingly striking foils on the apollo r," is how Roland Gumpert describes his race car. At the exhibition stand in Geneva, the apollo r presents itself in a black-red-gold foil
dress. The driver and passenger doors are each graced by a griffin, a cross between an eagle and lion and therefore the lord of the air as well as the earth.
As the heraldic animal of the sports car manufacturer GUMPERT, the griffon also decorates the distinctive swing doors of the apollo enraged. The mythical creature is part of the designer paintjob and foils that visually emphasise the link between the enraged and the apollo r. "Even though the apollo enraged is street legal, it nevertheless carries the racing sports genes of the apollo r," is how Roland Gumpert describes the limited special edition. This genetic connection becomes tangible through a performance boost to 780 hp and a reduction of the dry weight to 1,175 kg. Next to the flag design embroidery on the seat and headrest, the digital LCD instrument panel is the most noticeable special feature on the interior.
"Ok, so perhaps it is a bit crazy to take the most extreme, barely still street legal vehicle and make it even more extreme," says Roland Gumpert about the limited special edition enraged – the unleashed and furious apollo. "But the idea behind the enraged, just like the apollo r itself, embodies our philosophy and our understanding of PURE GERMAN SPEED with absolute consistency." GUMPERT intends to prove just how well, or how fast, the two vehicles actually realise this philosophy with another record time on the "Nordschleife" race course this year. And as in 2009 when breaking the record for the first time, GUMPERT will approach this together with its tyre supplier and technology partner Michelin.
Featured Gallery Gumpert Apollo Enraged: Geneva 2012
View 11 PhotosRelated Gallery Gumpert Apollo R: Geneva 2012
Related Gallery Gumpert Apollo R
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