Up close with the Apollo Intensa Emozione

It is easy to see why. Even in a supercar sea of mega horsepower and as many big wings as Heathrow, the new Apollo has “showstopper” written all over it. Any car that can nudge the Aston Martin Vulcan AMR Pro and new Brabham BT62 into second and third spots respectively in the public vote has to be very special indeed.

But those already clearing garage space for one may be out of luck. With just 10 of the 208mph, £2 million road/track sensations to be made, each created with renowned race car constructor partners, you may be out of luck unless you have baggsied one already.

As the big wing and massive tailfin allude to, the evocatively-named new Apollo recalls the great days of hero GT1 race cars like the Porsche 911 GT1 and McLaren F1 Longtail. And especially like the Mercedes CLK GTR – the FIA GT winner developed for Mercedes by the German race specialists HWA, which just happens to have had a large hand in the development and building of the Apollo Intensa Emozione.

Apollo ring many bells? The name first surfaced in 2004 as the badge on the back of the first car from the new company set up by ex-Audi executive Roland Gumpert. The Gumpert Apollo had its moments – beating the Bugatti Veyron on Top Gear was one – but  the enterprise fell in a heap in 2013 and from the ashes has arisen a whole new company with new people, new projects and a new dream.

GRR caught up with Apollo Automobil general manager Ryan Berris at FOS to get the lowdown on one of this year’s real showstoppers…

What are the key figures that define what this car is all about?

The naturally-aspirated V12 gives between 780-800 horsepower. All-up weight is 1,250kg. 0-62mph is 2.7 seconds. The car generates 1,350kg of net downforce at 186mph. There’s 2.5g of lateral acceleration. There will only ever be 10 cars, which are all spoken for, and the price each is €2.3 million (£2m). But this is not meant to be a numbers car.

If not the numbers, what is it about?

Everything about this car is about the emotional experience for the driver. We did this car just for the passion of it. We felt that cars have become so technologically capable that the driving experience gets diluted. The answer was to build a modern-day GT1-inspired car that is pure, organic and true. A purist’s car like this is a dying breed because there’s only a select handful who want one.

What was the inspiration behind it?

We wanted a car that fit with our passion for cars from the old GT1 days of the 1990s. We felt that no one would build a car like this again because from a business case it wouldn’t make any sense. You’d be completely crazy. Luckily for us we are privately funded and carve our own destiny.

How have you brought the Intensa Emozione from dream to reality?

We built the car of our dreams in complete secrecy. The project started in 2016 with a clean sheet of paper. Everything about it is new and bespoke, nothing off the shelf at all, and there is no relationship with any previous Apollo. It is a whole new chapter for us. Since we showed it the car has had a cult following. Everyone says they are making track cars for the road these days but everything about this car is bespoke and the best available.

The car has a lot of power and light weight…

It has the world’s first all-carbon chassis. Not just the tub, but also the sub-frames. All the chassis components together weigh just 105kg. Because we created a totally bespoke chassis we could tailor a very organic shape for the body. We have been very forward-thinking with the chassis but nostalgic with other components like our own naturally-aspirated V12 – no turbos, no hybrid power.

Who are your main partners?

The V12 has been developed with two engine partners and the car is assembled by HWA in Germany. HWA is world renowned and develops all Mercedes race cars outside F1. Hewland provides the six-speed sequential gearbox – just like the one they use at Le Mans.

Can it be used on both road and track?

Yes. Even the sharpest points of the body meet the minimum requirements for homologation for road use. The car has front and rear lifters, as well as a full airjack system for the track. And each car comes with two sets of wheels and tyres, one for the road and a set of slicks for the track, and two sets of brakes.

When can we drive it?

The first customer delivery will be in February 2019 and owners and press are not being allowed to drive it or get a passenger ride in it until the programme is done.

Photography by James Lynch.