We’re not sure we could live with its ghoulish looks, but after hearing news of the German supercar manufacturer having filed for bankruptcy, we’re not sure we want to live without it’s thoroughbred performance abilities either.
Gumpert filed for bankruptcy yesterday, after plans to increase sales in China proved too ambitious. While the situation isn’t pretty, the company’s court-appointed administrator is optimistic about a recovery. Roland Gumpert, who founded the company in 2004, said in a statement, “The Apollo has gained an exclusive fan base throughout Germany and Europe. Now we have taken care of this customer base intensely. Production continues and we hope to sell the first vehicle within this week.”
Gumpert, who are based in Altenberg, Germany, issued their filing with the local court, who appointed an insolvency administrator. Preliminary talks with the company’s thirty employees have given positive results and the administrator considers the company to be recoverable.
The Gumpert Apollo is the only car produced by the company to-date. The first Gumpert Apollo entered production in October 2005 and in 2008 it set a new lap record of 1m17.1s at the Top Gear test circuit. The Apollo is powered by an Audi-sourced 4.2-litre V8 engine with 485 kW in a body that weighs just 1 100 kg. Zero to 100 km/h is done in just 3.1 seconds, 200 km/h comes up in 9.1 seconds and the top speed is 360 km/h. The ‘Sport’ and ‘Race’ versions of the Apollo produce 522 kW and 596 kW respectively.
Let’s hope the company can rescue itself from the impending doom. Any team of thirty people capable of producing a supercar that takes on far mightier manufacturers for a place at the top of the Top Gear lap-board, has something rather special.
