“Gumpert Partners with Evolution MotorSports for US Market!”
Tempe, AZ - Today Gumpert Sportswagenmanufaktur GmbH and Evolution MotorSports announced Gumpert has selected Evolution MotorSports in Tempe Arizona as their US market final assembly and Performance Validation center for the Gumpert Apollo.

Gumpert has selected Evolution MotorSports due to their understanding the balance between consumers expectation for a car that is competent for the racetrack and the ability to hold the exceptionally high standards that Gumpert will demand for the chassis delivered to the US market. Gumpert feels it is imperative for all US cars to be Performance Validated and comprehensibly checked, all before being delivered to the exclusive United State Dealer, European Touch in Huntington Beach California.

The Gumpert Apollo is a hand made coupe, available in a Street, GT or Race Car Configuration. The Apollo was recently featured on an episode of the UK Automotive show Top Gear where it was celebrated as the fastest around their test track over the last several seasons.

Gumpert representatives have stated that “The selection of Evolution MotorSports was an easy choice. Evolution MotorSports dedication to providing an excellent finished product, attention to detail and customer service have no rival that could come close to providing the finished product required.”

Todd Zuccone, Founder of Evolution MotorSports commented, “All we do are Insanely Tuned Luxury Exotics. We examined the Gumpert Apollo and I knew that EVOMS was the correct choice for Performance Validation. Something Evolution MotorSports customers have known for a long time. We are honored to have been selected by the Gumpert team."

Apollo Has Landed!

Pictured above is the first legal USA Gumpert Apollo departing the Gumpert headquarters in Altenburg, Germany. The Apollo left Germany the last week of August 2008 for a flight bound to Evolution MotorSports in the USA. Rubber on ground is planned after customs clearance before Labor Day!

About Gumpert:

The beginning – from the idea to the first model. In 2001 there was a vision of a new super sports car: A car, which combined the highest aerodynamics with unmatched driving capabilities. A street-legal car, ready for the race track. Last but not least, Mr. Gumpert aspired for the Apollo to offer the best value for money of any vehicle in this exclusive class. Starting from that vision, the technical parameters to be met were defined and the first designs of the car were drawn by Marco Vanetta. At the end of this process the first 1:4 scale model of the car was produced in 2002 – and the Apollo was born. From the first model to pre-production. To successfully develop this first model into a real car is an extensive process requiring significant development experience and technical ‘know-how’. To realize this vision, project management was taken over four years ago by Roland Gumpert. Coming from AUDI, Roland Gumpert has a long and impressive track record in car development and motor sport. During his time as Director of the AUDI Sport Department the Quattros from Ingolstadt won 25 races in the World Rally Championship and 4 World Rally Championship Titles. The GMG Sportwagenmanufaktur Altenburg GmbH was founded and Gumpert pressed ahead with the development of the apollo. In cooperation with the Technical University in Munich and the University of Applied Sciences in Ingolstadt constructional work, computer simulations, and finally wind tunnel tests were carried out. These research and development activities formed the basis for a first 1:1 scale model and finally the first two pre-production apollo. From pre-production to serial production. The first full-scale model of Apollo created a huge interest, both from the public and potential customers. To further develop the brand ‘apollo, GMG Sportwagen Manufaktur Altenburg became, in January 2005, Gumpert Sportwagenmanufaktur GmbH with Roland Gumpert as Managing Director. The new and striking brand is characterised by the griffin: this mythological creature – half lion, half eagle – is a symbol of strength and speed and not least a symbol of earth and air. View the Gumpert web site: www.gumpert.de

About Evolution MotorSports:

Founded in 1997 by Todd Zuccone, Evolution MotorSports, Inc. has been the premier European aftermarket automobile performance company in the USA. Focusing exclusively on German power plants of Porsche and VW/Audi in the first decade, EVOMS has grown into other European, concept and super cars in the last 5 years.

Evolution MotorSports conceives designs, engineers and track/roads tests proprietary Performance Systems for the following vehicles: Porsche, Lamborghini, Audi, VW, BMW and Mercedes. All EVOMS Performance Systems feature EVOMSit "intelligent tuning," the company’s proprietary engine management software.

EVOMS has an extensive client base that race their vehicles and are extreme motorsports enthusiasts. Vehicle race prep, driver coaching and trackside support are all services available to EVOMS clients.

Company information can be reviewed on the following sites:
Evolution MotorSports - www.EVOMS.com
EVOMSit “intelligent tuning” - www.EVOMSit.com

About European Touch:

Serving Southern California’s exotic and luxury automobile owners since 1998 enabled European Touch to be one of the premier automotive retailers in the US. European Touch franchise selections include Gumpert and YES! authorized dealerships as well as many other of the world's finest pre-owned automobiles such as Lamborghini, Ferrari, Pagani, Rolls Royce, Bentley and many more. www.europeantouchusa.com

Evolution MototrSports is delighted to have StreetFire.net partnering in covering the Gumpert and EVOMS partnership VIP event on Sep 5th and 6th. StreetFire.net is the biggest automotive video site in the world. Car videos for car lovers. Footage of this event will be available on www.streetfire.net

All right, I didn't just find it. This Apollo was brought into the country by Mr Mota, the gentleman you see above. He deals in European exotics, but this one's not for sale; it's going to be driving in the Gumball 3000, which starts in San Francisco this Saturday (hence all the stickers). One of his business partners was on the SSPP22 Volvo 780 Bertone team that pitted next to the Black Metal V8olvo at the 24 Hours of LeMons SF a couple months back, and that connection led to a Gumpert photo session on the island.


That's an Audi 4.2 V8, like the one in the RS4, R8, and S5, only with twin turbochargers and about double the horsepower. Oh, it sounds mighty good!


I asked what it was like to drive in city traffic, and the answer was a sort of pained grimace. The seats are not adjustable, the minuscule ground clearance means speed bumps spell certain doom, and the engine's berserk power output isn't well-suited to stop-and-go traffic. But who cares? This thing can likely blow away any other street-legal production car on the planet on a racetrack!


Before we get to the next couple of galleries, let's see The Stig take the Apollo Type S around the Top Gear track and get the best lap time in the history of the show.

On top of this week's star in a reasonably priced car snagging himself a whopper of a run around the track (click here to see where Jay Kay ended up on the board), The Stig whipping the Gumpert Apollo around the same track for a similarly monster run (click here to see where the Gumpert Apollo ended up on the board) and some hot Brit-on-German action with Sabine Schmitz and Tim Schrick, our main man James May had a chance to drive what we now believe to be the ugliest car in all the world. Yes, yes, we know the Mitsuoka Orochi snagged second place rather than the top spot on our list of the top ten ugliest foreign cars currently for sale, but after seeing it on the road in the above segment we think we may need to change our minds.

We fear the Orochi is what happens when you let a sushi chef design a car using his favorite fish as inspiration. The result, as you can see above, is positively revolting. But the ugly isn't just skin deep. It's slow; powered by a six from Toyota with an anemic 230 HP. The ride's apparently soft and rubbish. Predictably, May absolutely loved it. Hold on a moment while we run off to vomit. If you're able to stand it, there's a gallery below. Don't say we didn't warn you.

Well, we knew it'd be out at the Race At Nürburgring 24-hour endurance race, but it looks like it was getting some test time out at the ring a week early. Oh, and did we mention the hybrid Apollo's purportedly rated at 800 HP? Yes, we know it's not the same color as the one we saw in Wired but we're getting independent confirmation — and some better photos — from our good friends at BTG! (Hat tip to James and Michael!) [Mobotix, BTG]

The new motor is a 3.3-liter V8 fitted with twin turbos. Combined with a 100kW electric motor, the car has 630 HP readily available. The juice for the electric motor is charged up by regenerative braking technology. We're not sure what Gumpert's plans are for any possible road version of this setup, but we bet even Al Gore would want one.
[World Car Fans]

We wish we had something really clever to say. But after two-hours of searching los interwebs for some decent car porn, we have reached the conclusion that no one should be allowed to point a video camera at a car unless they work for the BBC. That said, we officially have a crush on the Gumpert. Oh, and there's 9-more minutes of poorly conceived, filmed and produced Apollo action after the jump. – Jonny Lieberman

Related:
Supercar Weekend: Gumpert Apollo Actually Looks Good in Orange, Europe [Internal]

We've been following the progression of Gumpert's Apollo for some time now and exactly like most bespoke hypercars, the specs are beyond reproach while the aesthetics are lousy. Let us amend that to say were lousy. Above is one sexy German! Sure, that's what your Exige would look like after a weekend with Barry Bonds. But so what? Priced well over $400,000, it might as well look like the raddest car you ever scribbled on a Pee-Chee folder. Oh, and those specs? It's got the 4.2-liter V8 from the RS4/R8 with two-turbos hooked up, good for 650 hp (though if you want 800 hp, you can pay for get 800 hp), a 0-60 mph time just below 3 seconds and a top end of... oh let's just say 225 mph. What's the difference anyway? And yeah, if we lived in Monoco it's the only car we'd drive. On Tuesdays. In June. After 3:00 pm. – Jonny Lieberman

Related:
Gumpert the Second: Apollo Sport to Debut in Geneva | Gumpert Apollo Nears Production

The folks at Gumpert Sportwagenmanufaktur GmbH (glad we don't have to hand-address letters to them) will show off their latest Apollo model, the Apollo Sport, at the Geneva show next week. Mechanically, the Sport model won't stray from the base Apollo, which is powered by a midship-mounted Audi 4.2-liter V8 prodded with twin turbos and tuned to produce 800 hp — good for a zero to 60 mph time of 3 seconds. But it will get an aero kit that includes a rear wing, and creature comforts like Alcantara interior trim, AC, a backup camera and a CD stereo / nav system. What price luxury? Try around $400,000. – Mike Spinelli

Press Release:

Gumpert Apollo Sport

Rebel amongst super sport cars

It is one of only a handful of super sport cars and after its debut at Geneva's international Motor Show in 2006 it was clear: the apollo is a synthesis of dynamic and design with pure driving pleasure and unique performance. On the road it speeds like a god and on the race track it cries out to be challenged by an opponent that can match its breathtaking acceleration and incomparable handling. Now, it is due to get a worthy competitor out of its own stable. At the 77th Geneva Motor Show, the Gumpert Sportwagenmanufaktur will present the apollo sport to the wide public.

The apollo sport is the rebel amongst the super sport cars. Its bodywork combines sexy curves with potent edges and angles and aims for uncompromising aerodynamics. A clear demonstration of the principle "form follows function". Its challenging sporting design derives from the requirement to built a street legal racing car, whose number one priority is to provide extraordinary performance on the circuit, but at the same time embodying a vehicle suitable for daily use.

The highest importance was attached to safety: the tubular space frame in chrome-molybdenum steel with integrated safety monocoque fabricated in carbon-fiber passes all crash-tests regulations, while a cashbox offers additional protection. The gaping air intake stub over the roof and on the rear signals power, dynamics and superiority. The eight cylinder, bi-turbo mid-engine with up to 800 horsepower is capable of catapulting this 1200 kg missile from 0-100 km/h in only 3 seconds.

The apollo sport is equipped with an extended aerodynamic package and, in contrast to the three part spoiler of the apollo, possesses a racing wing which gives even more down force and pushes the spollos's maximum speed up to 360 km/h.

As you can guess, it is not for nothing that this cars is named after the fierce Greek God.

The two-seater also convinces from the inside, with its sporty and elegant alcantara interior, and offers air-condition, CD-player, navigation system and reverse view camera as standard equipment. A two-layer metallic finish available in any conceivable color, gives this bolide a particular luster. As a special accessory the apollo is equipped with an airjack, a pneumatic jacking pad.

The standard version of the apollo sport costs 299.500,- plus VAT.

Related:
Translating the Gumpert Apollo; Gumpert Apollo Production Starts [internal]

So, the Gumpert Apollo the Audi-engined, 650-horse super car that vaguely resembles a rabid, irradiated RX-8 witih a steroid problem has reached production, and despite the fact that its name sounds like something Jeremiah Gumpert, Age 13, Math Olympics Champion of Jeff Davis County, Texas would come up with, the Apollo's obviously a pretty serious machine, as this Google translation from the German magazine Focus points out.

To wit: "When the red projectile in the middle of roared for the first time January by old person castle, it pulled admire-been astonished views of itself. The "Apollo" could not even do its under the hood schlummernden 650 HP fully to drive out. But the call of the racing car from east Thuringia, which the Gumpert Sportwagenmanufaktur GmbH wanted to manufacture in the Skatstadt, had there already hurried into all world."

We're afraid of the Skatstadt if it means what we think it means.

Supersportsman from Thuringia [Focus via Google Translation via The German Car Blog]

Related:
Gumpert Apollo Production Starts [Internal]