Gumpert Apollo Sport
The Gumpert Apollo was the brainchild of Roland Gumpert, former head of Audi Sport and the engineer behind the legendary Quattro rally program. After leaving Audi, Gumpert set out to build the ultimate road-legal race car at a small factory in Altenburg, Thuringia. The Apollo used a heavily modified Audi 4.2-liter V8 engine fitted with twin turbochargers, producing 700 horsepower in Sport specification. The chassis was a tubular chrome-molybdenum steel frame with a carbon fiber body generating massive downforce — at 300 km/h, the Apollo produced enough aerodynamic grip to theoretically drive upside down on a ceiling. The racing-derived double wishbone suspension with pushrod-actuated dampers and Hewland sequential gearbox came directly from motorsport. The Apollo gained worldwide fame when it set the fastest lap time in Top Gear's Power Laps, with The Stig posting a blistering 1:17.1 — faster than any other road car tested. Despite its extraordinary capability, only 83 Apollos were produced before Gumpert entered insolvency in 2013. The car was later revived as the Apollo Intensa Emozione under new ownership.
Extremely rare with fewer than 83 built. The Audi-derived V8 is well-supported for basic maintenance but turbo system is heavily modified. Sequential gearbox requires specialized service. Carbon fiber body panels are bespoke and irreplaceable. Full service history is essential.
Approximately 83 units were produced in total across all Apollo variants. The factory in Altenburg employed around 40 people. Roland Gumpert leveraged his extensive Audi Sport contacts for engineering support.