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Barely street Legal
2007 Gumpert Apollo Story Colum Wood
Photos Joost Demuynck
After heading up Audi Sport for almost three decades and achieving
astounding successes, including four World Rally Championship titles, Roland
Gumpert was looking for a new challenge. “Life was boring,” he comments
half-jokingly during our interview.
And so, even before he had left Audi, Gumpert’s wheels’ were spinning. “I
was already working on the Apollo project,” he admits, “with permission from
Audi.”
Just a few years later, Roland founded his very own exotic car company. He
named the company after himself ... Gumpert Sportwagenmanufaktur GmbH. And
the car, a mid-engined, twin-turbo V8 that makes 650 hp and 627 ft-lbs of
torque, he named after the Greek god Apollo.
Now in ancient Greece, Apollo was the god of many things, including archery,
music and prophesy. He is, however, most famously known from Homer’s The
Iliad, where he punishes the Greeks with arrows of disease for abducting the
daughter of one of his Trojan priests. When the Greeks made the proper
sacrifices and the Trojans asked for Apollo to show their enemies mercy,
Apollo ceased his terror and sent the Trojans favorable winds to send them,
in their ships, back home.
Apparently, Roland Gumpert knows his mythology and so he named his creation
after this god who commanded (and demanded) much respect. “Every warlord had
to pray to and request the victory from Apollo,” he says.
Gumpert certainly has put his creation on quite a pedestal, but for good
reason. How many other cars can rocket from zero-60 in three seconds flat
and hit a top speed of 224 mph?
In many ways, not surprisingly, his creation has a great deal in common with
Audi’s R8 race car. For starters, the Apollo has a race car chassis with a
tube frame made of chrome-molybdenum steel and a carbon fiber monocoque.
Together the basic structure of the car weights just 224 lbs. As well as
being light, it is also extremely rigid, allowing it to have superb handling
on the race track. The down side, however, is that it is extremely stiff for
road use.
To assist in making the car a track superstar while allowing it tolerable
road manners is a suspension setup that would be at home on any race car ...
an inboard coilover setup with remote shock reservoirs (manufactured by KW)
that are acted upon by pushrods connected to the wheels. This system allows
for a high level of movement for the wheels and light weight control arms.
Because it is a coilover setup, each corner can be fine tuned with an
adjustable ride height. The ground clearance can be set from 1.57-inches to
4.72-inches.
The race car similarities do not end there though, especially when you get
to the engine bay. Audi’s R8 race car made use of a bi-turbo 3.6L V8 and
motivation for the Apollo comes from a not-too-distantly related Audi
sourced twin turbo 4.2L V8. The engine, however, is not a race car engine
but the impressive power plant from the original RS6. Producing 450 hp in
stock trim the engine now makes use of a redesigned intake system that
features a roof mounted snorkel and a much more efficient intercooler
system. Add to that 20 psi of boost through a set of modified KKK
turbochargers and the result is a walloping 650 hp - and that’s just the
base model. For the adventurous few, Gumpert offers an 800 hp option
package!
What the Apollo does borrow directly from racing cars is its transmission, a
six speed sequential box. The lengthy shift stick need only be moved the
tiniest bit forward or backward to change gears. Gumpert says he decided on
this system to avoid gear shifting errors but admits that he really did it
because it’s “more fun.”
Match all this with the light weight chassis and it’s no surprise the car
will blast to 60 in three seconds flat. Hitting the outrageous top speed of
224 mph isn’t just possible because of the massive amount of hp either. The
car has some serious aerodynamics, including a massive rear lip spoiler,
that keeps the light weight vehicle (just 2,745 lbs) stuck to the ground.
As Apollo is the god of masculine good looks, some might question if the
car’s name aptly applies to its aesthetics. One thing is for sure, it
definitely won’t got lost in a crowd. One of the largest aesthetic changes
from earlier models is that the roof snorkel has been (thankfully) toned
down tremendously. Additionally, it would be nice to see the gaps between
the sheet metal brought closer together.
The Apollo is more designed towards track dynamics than top speed. Heck, it
even has a four-stage traction control (and optional launch control). And
even with considerable achievements in both of these categories it gets by
with some basic creature comforts. The interior may be lavishly decorated in
Alcantara but the dash is certainly too utilitarian for a street car. Also,
it’s close quarters inside the cabin as the seats aren’t so much seats as
they are padded ledges to rest your behind on. The headrests are actually
mounted to the firewall (practical, but odd). This is all because part of
the car’s track finesse comes from a careful 42/58 weight distribution which
takes into account (to a certain extent) the weight of the driver. Gumpert
engineers don’t want to upset the dynamics of the car and so they will
design the seat first and then adjust the pedal position and wheel in
accordance with your body.
When you’re cruising around in the car it’s great to get all the attention,
but you’d rather be getting the attention of your buddy in a Porsche GT3 as
your roar past him at your local track. On the street, it’s harsh and bouncy
and there’s honestly just too much temptation to punch the throttle and send
the car lunging forward in a ferocious and exhilarating surge. Even with 650
hp this car seems to have no problems hooking up ‹ which might have
something to do with the 345 rear Pirelli tires.
As racing is a big part of Gumpert’s past he understands that in order for
the Apollo to gain the respect of a worldwide audience it must compete and
win in motorsports. In 2005 the Apollo met homologation standards for the
French FFSA GT series. Since then the car has competed in the Divinol Cup in
Europe. Currently the car is undergoing a number of small changes to help it
meet racing standards for the hotly contested FIA GT1 series.
On top of this, Gumpert has plenty of work to do in just producing the cars.
The problem? He can’t build them fast enough. “If we are able to increase
production output, we could sell more,” says Gumpert. “That´s the main thing
to be solved within this year and at the beginning of next year. The goal is
to change to a two shift system.”
Gumpert’s marketing manager, Stefan Burger, boasts about how the Apollo is
one of very few cars in the world where people actually get on a waiting
list in order to own one. Demand is soaring in eastern European countries
and Russia but the company is eager to move into the US. “Major investments
are necessary to cope with all legal requirements of the US market,” says
Gumpert. “Sales in the other markets should make these investments possible
during the next year. The US market will get Apollo!”
And so while Audi’s R8 sports car is perhaps too refined for the street (as
per our review last issue) the Apollo sits at the other end of the spectrum.
It is a raw driving experience.
In an age where even Porsche’s GT3 RS is a decently comfortable machine, the
Apollo is loud, unrefined and violently stiff. This car is really best left
to the track, which is what you should buy a car like this for anyway. It
just so happens to have the added benefit of being street legal.
If you are a lover of exotic and wild, wild cars you have to appreciate the
style, horsepower and quirkiness of this hypercar. There’s no doubt that the
Gumpert Apollo turns more heads than a Lamborghini LP640. And it certainly
hauls a lot more ass.
SPECIFICATIONS
2007 Gumpert Apollo
ENGINE
Audi-sourced bi-turbo 4.2L V8
ENGINE MODIFICATIONS
Forged pistons, new con rods, dry sump lubrication system, new roof mounted
snorkel air intake system, completely redesigned intercooler and exhaust
system
DETAILS
2007 Gumpert Apollo
WHEELS, TIRES, BRAKES
(f) 19x10-inch single lug cast aluminum ATS MSR wheels with 255/35/19
Pirelli P Zero Corsa tires; six-piston calipers with 14.9-inch rotors;
(r)
19x13-inch single lug cast aluminum ATS MSR wheels with 345/35/19 Pirelli P
Zero Corsa tires; six-piston calipers with 14.9-inch rotors
SUSPENSION
KW inboard coilover suspension system
INTERIOR
Various custom interior treatments, with items such as air conditioning
standard
NUMBERS
Horsepower: 650 hp @ 65-00 rpm
Torque: 627 ft-lbs @ 4000 rpm
Zero-60: 3.0 sec.
Zero-124: 8.9 sec.
Top Speed: 224 mph
Length: 175.6-inches (4,460 mm)
Width: 78.6-inches (1,998 mm)
Height: 43.8-inches (1,114 mm)
Weight: 2,645 lbs
MSRP: 239,500 Euro ($332,000)
