EXOTIC RACING SERIES CAR OF THE DAY: Gumpert Apollo

Submitted by Kirk Pedersen on Wed, 2010-03-10 22:35

The brainchild of Roland Gumpert, a longtime Volkswagen/Audi business development guru, and Roland Mayer, former chief of Audi Sport, the Gumpert Apollo is as close to a street-legal racecar you can get, and it’s available with the downloadable Exotic Racing Series for Need for Speed SHIFT.  Taking a look at the Apollo from the outside, it’s reminiscent of the cars we used to doodle in our notebooks as growing boys while feigning attention in math, English or history class so many years ago.  With its swooping, yet angular lines, the Apollo makes use of fiberglass technology to shed the extra pounds that come with steel construction, with carbon fiber pieces optional.  Apollo is constructed entirely upon a tubular chromoly frame and depending on options, weighs anywhere from 2,400-2,600 pounds.  But that’s not what anyone who owns or obsesses over the Apollo cares about.  The 4.2-liter, 40-valve, mid-mounted, 90-degree bi-turbo V8 engine is the star of the Apollo show. Gumpert has three different ‘levels’ of their vaunted mill: the ‘base’ engine has 641 horsepower, the ‘sport’ level boasts 691 ponies, and the ‘race’ Apollo has 789 pavement-eating German thoroughbreds.  On the track, Apollo burns from 0-to-60 in only 3.2 seconds, equaling the time set by the legendary McLaren F1.  Apollo is an outstanding blend of technology and raw engineering, with its drive-by-wire acceleration system, dry sump lubrication and on-board diagnostic system supplementing its prodigious power.  Gumpert claims the Apollo is so perfectly engineered that it can drive upside-down in a tunnel at around 190 mph.  Nobody has been able to test this theory, though British motoring show Top Gear has said they are ready to attempt the experiment but need a willing driver.  You may not be driving upside-down through tunnels with SHIFT’s  Exotic Racing Series, but it’s a tempting proposition every time we look at the Apollo.

• Kirk Pedersen's blog
• Reply: Login | Register