Chassis No. W09GUA2157AG64021

Roland Gumpert has long had a touch of "mad genius" about him. As a curious young lad, he disassembled his mother's vacuum cleaner to use the motor in a homemade turbocharger. Later in life, he channeled his creative energy into an engineering degree, landing a job at Audi in 1969, first as a test engineer, and later working through the ranks to a position alongside Ferdinand Piëch. One of Gumpert's most significant creations was the Volkswagen Iltis, a compact, lightweight military vehicle with selectable four-wheel drive. Gumpert believed the 4WD system would be an asset both in competition and in a road-going sports car. He proved his concept when an Iltis, driven by Freddy Kottulinsky, took overall victory on the grueling Paris-Dakar Rally in 1980. His system was then adapted for the Audi Coupé to create the legendary quattro. Promoted to head of Audi Sport in 1981, he saw the German squad take four World Rally Championship titles, and the quattro reinvented rallying as we know it.

After a fruitful career, Gumpert returned to Germany in 2001, partnering with Roland Mayer (former Audi engineer and founder of MTM Tuning) to build the no-compromises supercar he had always dreamed of-unencumbered by corporate bureaucracy. Gumpert and Mayer formed GMG Sportwagenmanufaktur Altenburg GmbH, later renamed Gumpert Sportwagenmanufaktur, and gathered a staff of about 40 handpicked engineers and designers. The team first created a structure consisting of a high-strength, chromoly space frame affixed to a carbon fiber monocoque passenger tub weighing a mere 23 kilograms. Behind the cockpit was fitted an Audi-sourced 4.2-liter V8, heavily revised by MTM with forged internals, a pair of turbochargers, and massive intercoolers. Three states of tune were offered-650 PS in base trim, 700 for the Sport (S), or a mighty 800 in the track-only Race® version. Italian firm CIMA supplied the six-speed sequential transaxle, and all cars featured adjustable RaceLogic traction control, and Audi-sourced cockpit fittings.

The impressive underpinnings are wrapped in an aggressively styled composite body. With its flares, vents, scoops, gullwing doors and a massive rear wing, the Apollo is certainly no shrinking violet. It is a brutal machine with the sole purpose of maximizing aerodynamic downforce in the quest for the fastest lap times.

In 2009, an Apollo Sport lapped the Nürburgring Nordschleife in 7:11.57 for Germany's Sport Auto magazine. It was also tested by Richard Hammond on Top Gear and set the fastest time yet around their famous test track, 1:17.1, topping the leaderboard in the show's 11th season. Roland Gumpert claimed the Apollo generated enough downforce to theoretically stick to the roof of a tunnel if driven fast enough! But for all the performance potential, the Apollo retained a degree of compliance and civility to enjoy on regular public roads. It is not known exactly how many Apllos were constructed, with estimates of fewer than 50, and as few as 20 Sport models.

Any Gumpert Apollo will undoubtedly stop you in your tracks, yet this car-serial number 21-looks especially menacing in its original matte-black finish. An outstanding example of Germany's rarely seen supercar, this 2008 Apollo Sport has been in the long-term care of Swiss owners and enjoyed sparingly, now showing 21,000 kilometers recorded at the time of cataloging. Remarkably, this is believed to be the only example registered in Switzerland, and a copy of the homologation documents signed by Roland Gumpert is on file.

This car was completed in the desirable Sport specification, originally rated at 700 PS. However, the vendor reports recent service and tuning work and that it now produces an estimated 720 PS. Additionally, a major service was completed in May 2023 at 20,800 km, and the six-speed sequential transmission was rebuilt and updated with reinforced stub axles by CIMA (the original manufacturer) in Bologna, Italy.

While in the vendor's care, this car was featured in Octane Magazine #262 (April 2025), and a scan of the article is included in the digital file. It is also furnished with service and owner's manuals, service records, the aforementioned homologation papers, and a Swiss Carte Grise dated 31 October 2023, and denoting the model year as 2015, its first year of registration.

This 2008 Gumpert Apollo Sport is a shining example of what can be achieved when an engineer like Roland Gumpert starts with a dream and a blank page. With an estimated 150 built, they seldom appear on the open market, and fortunate Apollo owners rarely part with them. Benefitting from recent service and long-term care, this superb, high-spec example is ready to thrill its next custodian.