Geneva 2012: Gumpert Apollo R And Apollo Enraged

What do your local, slick-talking drug dealer and clunkily named German supercar-builder Gumpert have in common? If you answered that both make use of the marketing tag line, “Pure German Speed” you’ve got at least one of the possible correct answers.

Hoping to make good on that speedy promise, Roland Gumpert rolled into Geneva today, with a two-ring circus of horsepower that’ll have show-goers drooling.

First up is the lightest, most powerful Apollo the company has ever built, the race-ready Apollo R. The gull-winged brute extracts 860 horsepower from a supercharged 4.2-liter V-8, and has been stripped of all unneeded bits to get down to a dry weight of just 2420 pounds (1100 kilograms). The company has plans to “deploy” its new racecar on an upcoming Asian debut. Stay tuned.

Slightly less menacing in terms of the spec sheet, though more darkly named, the Gumpert Apollo Enraged is just barely toned down from the racing spec R, but manages to stay “street legal.” (We don’t know what streets it’s legal on, but we’re guessing most of them don’t run through Detroit—sad day.)

Gumpert fully intends on setting some record laps at the benchmark Nürburgring, and is now possessed of just the road and racecars to get the job done.

Please scroll down to read the full Gumpert press release.

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.