According to German news sources, including T-online and Otz, local sports car manufacturer Gumpert, makers of the Apollo, has gone under. The information comes not very long (at all) after another fairly-renowned maker of sporty cars from the country, albeit with a different flavor, Wiesmann, also announced its insolvency. Artega is another name that closed its doors last year.
This is not the first time Gumpert, a company started back in 2004 by an ex-Audi manager, has faced financial turmoil, as just last year, they declared insolvency, but quickly found a willing investor who promised to buy the company. However, that very investor bailed on them, and now they’re back in the same difficult position they were in before.
I think Gumpert’s problem was the very Apollo it tried to sell in so many different power and trim variants. It was a purposeful looking car, designed pretty much exclusively for track use, yet it was never pretty nor was its interior as good as some of that you see in other similar exotics. The fact is that there are more people willing to buy a flashier and less potent model than a full-bore racing car for the road, which the Apollo seems to me like it really tried to be.
By Andrei Nedelea
PHOTO GALLERY
