Gumpert

Apollo

Gumpert Apollo: The Ugly Duckling

Roland Gumpert was the head of Audi Sport during their Group B rally dominance. When he decided to build his own supercar, he had one rule: Speed. He didn’t care about beauty. He didn’t care about luxury. He wanted a car that could drive upside down in a tunnel. The result was the Gumpert Apollo.

Design: Only Downforce

The Apollo is often voted one of the ugliest supercars ever made. It looks like a squashed insect.

  • Why? Because every vent, scoop, and wing is functional.
  • Roof Intake: The massive snorkel feeds air to the mid-mounted engine.
  • Gullwing Doors: The doors open upwards, but because the chassis sills are so wide (for stiffness), getting in requires gymnastics. You essentially have to sit on the sill, swing your legs in, and slide down.

The Engine: Audi Power

Under the hood lies a heavily modified 4.2-liter Audi V8 (similar to the RS4 engine), but with two massive turbochargers strapped to it.

  • Power: 650 hp (Standard), 700 hp (Sport), 800 hp (Race).
  • Sound: It sounds like a World War II fighter plane. It is raw, mechanical, and loud.
  • Reliability: Because the base engine is an Audi unit, it is surprisingly robust compared to bespoke Italian engines.

Nürburgring Record

In 2009, a Gumpert Apollo Sport lapped the Nürburgring in 7:11.57.

  • Context: At the time, this was the fastest lap ever for a road-legal production car. It beat the Dodge Viper ACR, the Nissan GT-R, and the Corvette ZR1.
  • The Stig: It also set the fastest lap on the Top Gear test track, famously beating the Bugatti Veyron and Koenigsegg CCX.

Driving: A Race Car with Plates

Driving an Apollo on the road is a challenge.

  • Width: It is nearly 2 meters wide. On a narrow country road, it takes up the entire lane.
  • Visibility: You cannot see out of the back. The rear wing blocks the view.
  • Gearbox: The 6-speed sequential gearbox requires a firm hand. You have to bang the gears in.

Legacy

Gumpert went bankrupt in 2013 (partly because the car was too ugly to sell in large numbers). But the Apollo proved that a small team of engineers could beat the giants of the industry if they ignored aesthetics and focused purely on physics. It remains a cult classic for hardcore track enthusiasts.