Apollo Taps Mercedes-AMG Co-Founder’s HWA To Finalize IE Development

Apollo has forced a strategic technical partnership with motorsport and development specialist HWA to complete development of the IE hypercar.

For those that don’t know, HWA was formed by Mercedes-AMG co-founder Hans Werner Aufrecht in 1998. The company has been on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since 2007 and was responsible for creating the Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR and handled production of the road-going variant. Additionally, HWA has run the DTM program for Mercedes-Benz.

In a statement, Apollo confirmed that HWA will work on safety, reliability, powertrain calibration, and thermal dynamics. Apollo will also gain access to certain technologies and facilities from HWA.

The work between Apollo and HWA is fitting as the niche automaker has previously said that the CLK-GTR was a key inspiration from the IE.

“We felt that all the technological advancement and automation in today’s supercars took away the pure, raw emotional connection between driver and car.

“We wanted to build a car that would fill that void separating car and driver.”

Apollo chairman Norman Choi says the partnership will serve as the perfect addition to the IE’s unfolding story.

“ I have admired HWA and their accomplishments for many years and wanted to leverage the strong synergies between our teams and utilize the 20+ years of experience and competencies of HWA to make certain that the IE will properly carry on the torch as the only modern-day GT1 inspired car.  It will really add to the story and history of the IE.”

Since premiering last year, the Apollo IE has captured the hearts of performance car enthusiasts around the world. Not only does it feature a design more radical than any other vehicle on the market, it is also powered by a screaming, Ferrari-derived 6.3-liter V12 engine delivering 780 hp and 560 lb-ft of torque. Just 10 examples are bound for the production line.