Gumpert Apollo prototype heads to auction

The first road-legal prototype of the radical Gumpert Apollo supercar is being offered for sale. French auction house Aguttes will sell the historically significant car at its Autoworld 2026 sale in Brussels on 10 October, with an estimated price of 550,000 to 750,000 euros.

This specific car, chassis number 81009, has been owned by the Apollo's creator, Roland Gumpert, since its completion 22 years ago. It is now being sold for the very first time. The car is powered by a 4.2-litre twin-turbo V8 engine, derived from an Audi design but heavily reworked, producing 650 horsepower and 850 Newton-metres of torque.

The Apollo's origins

Roland Gumpert was a key figure in German automotive engineering. In the 1970s, he helped develop the four-wheel-drive Volkswagen Iltis. He later played a decisive role in preparing Audi's revolutionary quattro system for production. Gumpert began his own supercar project in 2002, aiming to build a road-legal racing car and partly utilising technology from his former employer.

The first prototypes appeared in 2004. This red development car, the one now for sale, was racing by March 2005. It made a successful motorsport debut at the Divinol Cup in Hockenheim, where Belgian driver Ruben Maes finished third. According to the source, the car is said to have driven to that event and back under its own power, as it was already homologated for public roads.

Production and performance

Series production began in Altenburg, Thuringia, in late 2005. The factory was originally planned for an output of 60 cars per year, but that target was never met. No official production numbers were published, but it is thought only around 70 Apollos were built between 2005 and 2012. The company entered insolvency in 2013.

The Apollo's extreme performance came from a brutal power-to-weight ratio. Weighing just 1.1 tonnes, the car offered at least 650 horsepower. In its highest state of tune, the engine could produce 800 horsepower, sent to the rear wheels via a sequential six-speed gearbox.

Top Gear fame

The car achieved global fame through television. In a Top Gear episode first broadcast on 27 July 2008, the show's test driver, The Stig, piloted a 700 horsepower version of the Apollo around the programme's test track. He set a lap time of 1 minute and 17.1 seconds.

That time beat the previous record, held by an Ascari A10, by 0.2 seconds. It put the Gumpert Apollo at the top of the show's Power Lap board. The achievement meant the lightweight German car had outperformed far more powerful supercars like the Bugatti Veyron and Pagani Zonda. The Apollo's record stood for two years before being beaten by the 1,200 horsepower Bugatti Veyron Super Sport.

The car for auction represents the genesis of this legendary machine. It is the prototype that proved the concept, both on the racetrack and the public road.