Thursday 19th October 2017

Apollo Intensa Emozione teased

LMP1-styling with the potential of a naturally-aspirated V12 provides intrigue

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The Gumpert Apollo seems a lifetime ago now. Or if not a lifetime (it was launched in 2005) then at very least from a bygone age when a man didn't need a billion dollar R&D budget to turn his wildest automotive dreams into reality, just a big snifter of ambition, a belly full of experience - and enough chromoly piping to half fill a scaffold lorry.

Okay, so a silly name and the technical support of an international manufacturer also helped - but Roland Gumpert had those in the bag, too. Both were made in the heat of competition: the German having run Audi's rally team in the early eighties, an era which delivered 25 wins and a world title. This buys you some credibility when you come knocking on the door, asking for an engine.

Ingolstadt handed Gumpert the 40v version of the 4.2-litre V8 it had previously used to power the S8. He furnished it with two gigantic KKK turbochargers and set about extracting up to 800hp. Around it his team built a latticework of tubular steel, incorporated a carbon tub for two bucket seats and shrouded it all in a fibreglass body that only a blind aerodynamicist could love.

The result weighed less than 1,200kg though and could do almost 225mph even in its 'base' 650hp spec. Equipped with a better power-to-weight ratio than a Ferrari Enzo, it was unquestionably one of the fastest cars in the world at the time. But it was also savage and somewhat crude, and probably not the easiest sell given its rivals. By 2013, the company had gone into liquidation.

Last year though it re-emerged under new ownership, and with a new name: Apollo Automobil GmbH. Initially, Herr Gumpert was onboard too, and at Geneva it unveiled the Arrow, a 1,000hp hypercar which - while intriguing to look at - was in fact an evolution of the old Apollo underneath, retaining both the spaceframe and even an Audi-sourced V8.

That car though is apparently no more, and by the end of 2016 the firm had parted ways with its founder. One might have expected it to falter at this point, but lo and behold, just shy of 12 months later, Apollo Automobil is back with a teaser video and all guns blazing. There is no car just yet, but there is a name: Intensa Emozione - Intense Emotion - or, mercifully, just IE.

If that name doesn't exactly fill you with hope, then there is at least the prospect of new-from-the-ground-up design apparently based on a carbon fibre chassis. We wouldn't be shocked to our cotton socks to see a little Arrow influence left in there - but the LMP1-style fin between the rear wing and engine cover suggests that Apollo has gone to town on it, as does speculation of a naturally-aspirated V12 installed beneath.

We await the official unveiling next week with interest. Until then, there's this shadowy video to watch, and - incredibly - even a classified to peruse if all this talk of Gumpert has you pining for the good old days.

 

[Ekona]

I've never noticed before just how much an Apollo looks like a VXR220. In that blue, with an aftermarket rear diffuser on, there's a proper similarity I reckon.

[Krikkit]

That looks completely mad, love it! Marino Franchitti behind the wheel as well, so at least some credibility in their test driver.

[HardMiles]

Mmmmmmmmmm, the way it barks! Yesssssssss! Please all manufacturers take note! We need more v12's and lots more N/A cars too! I know I'm old school, but this is new school cool! :-)