If this comic book villain of a hypercar looks familiar, then well done for paying attention. It is the Apollo Evo, announced last year as the final boss, track-only evolution of the Intensa Emozione V12 monster. Now we see that car here in its finished form, as the first of 10 examples go into production, ready to make everything else at an elite track day look a bit naff.
If anything, the interior of the Evo might be even wilder than the outside. Absolutely no excess has been permitted seemingly anywhere, Apollo suggesting that the driving environment is best considered a ‘a visible, load-bearing mechanical system—engineered to place authenticity, function and the driver above all else.’ Seldom are the interiors of exotics this extreme - or this jaw-dropping. It really is hard to draw yourself away from the carbon and 3D-printed aluminum structure. Furthermore, while designed as a pure track car and without seemingly space for anything, there is air con, a suite of controls under that driver-angled stack, and screens ahead of the driver that will surely provide all necessary information. It’s minimalist, the Evo, rather than totally stripped out - and spectacular to look at. The driver and passenger sit in lightweight (of course) bucket seats, with sliding pedals for the former to get the best driving position.
They’ll need to bring their A-game, that’s for sure, the Evo boasting 800hp from a Ferrari-built 6.3-litre V12 and driving through a six-speed sequential. But unlike one of Maranello’s super GTs, Apollo’s weight saving obsessiveness with this car means it weighs just 1,300kg - or a quarter of a tonne less than a dry 12Cilindri. So even though the performance doesn’t look drastically different on paper - 0-62mph in 2.7 seconds, 208mph flat out – what happens between those speeds promises to be on another level entirely. Moreover, the Evo promises cornering speed that’s equally outrageous, with standard ceramic brakes, Cup 2R Michelins and huge downforce: should anyone reach 199mph, the rear wing on its own generates more than 1,300kg on its own.
For those who think that all sounds a bit amateurish, Apollo will offer a performance package for the Evo, comprising racing steel brakes and wheels that can accommodate slicks. Indeed, thanks to what’s called the Apollo FORGE program, each Evo customer will be able to spec pretty much whatever they want to make their car bespoke: ‘From materials and finishes to detailing, no two Evos will be alike. With a strictly limited production run, Apollo will deliver ten entirely unique expressions of Rebellious German Engineering’. So this silvery-grey effort is probably as tame as it’s going to get…
Nobody is going to miss one, whatever the spec and whichever track it ends up on. The Intensa Emozione was already like something out of a fever dream; this Eco, with its X-shaped DRLs, dramatically slashed bodywork and the maddest rear light signature of all time, raises the bar yet again. Just imagine the sight and the sound of being overtaken by this.
“The Evo is the most authentic expression of Rebellious German Engineering we have ever created,” said Niko Konta, Apollo CEO. “By exposing the car’s mechanical anatomy, we deepen the emotional bond between driver and machine while reinforcing the focus on absolute performance. This is engineering driven by determination.” While the billionaire plaything market can seem almost a bit saturated at the moment, it’s easy to imagine 10 being sufficiently intrigued by a car that looks and sounds like this to take the plunge. What’s the point, after all, in being super wealthy if you can’t have all the hard-to-get stuff? The only trouble for Apollo, really, is working out what the heck to do next…
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