The Apollo IE Will Be Enhanced By The Engineers Behind The CLK GTR
With a mid-mounted 6.3-litre N/A V12 chucking 769bhp to the rear wheels, an aero package generating nearly a tonne and a half of downforce and the sort of styling that makes the Batmobile look weak, the Apollo IE is already quite a beast. But, the €2.3 million track toy - of which just 10 will be made - is about become even more extreme.
It’s all thanks to a tie-up with HWA AG, a firm you’re unlikely to have heard of. But it’s a company with quite a CV: it builds Mercedes DTM cars and the AMG GT3/GT4, and has an extensive back catalogue which includes a racing legend: the CLK GTR. Oh yes.
It’s that GT1 link which is crucial: HWA will be extensively redeveloping the IE to meet FIA safety regulations. Why? Apollo told Evo that it is “eagerly awaiting what the FIA and the ACO [Automobile Club de l’Ouest, the 24 Hours of Le Mans organisers] says regarding GT1”. This comes less than a week after reports emerged that a GT1-style rules might be adopted by the FIA World Endurance Championship, seeing racers based on hypercars like the Aston Martin Valkyrie take to the track.
The idea is to spice up the competition at the pointy end of the WEC grid, where currently Toyota is the sole manufacturer in the LMP1 class, racing against privateers that simply can’t match the pace of the Japanese team. We’ll have to wait and see if Apollo wants to join this supposed WEC revolution, but the HWA tie-up seems like a pretty big hint.
Comments
Cant wait for the liftoff enhancement
That’s not a CLK GTR ;)
They should get Mark Webber to give it it’s first test flight.
Comment of the week right here!
I’ll still take the CLK GTR if you don’t mind.
The prototype race version of the Apollo has already been photographed
ELON MUSK WANTS TO KNOW YOUR LOCATION
That’s a comment of the week
Only Mercedes-Benz could call a car this “Mercedes Benz Coupé Leicht Kompakt Gran Turismo Racing Aufrecht Melcher Großaspach Super Sport” thats 13 words and 94 characters…..to describe a car, as in the rest of the non German speaking world we just call it “Mercedes Benz CLK GTR AMG SS”
Hi Cheryl
HWA means Hans-Werner Aufrecht, the guy who together with Erhard Melcher found /////AMG
As if it wasn’t extreme enough
the CLK-GTR is (in my opinion) the only cool supercar. Every other exotic can rot for all I care, CLK-GTR is waifu
But LFA
I hope they enter this into the new Le Mans Regulations
Apollo “Internet Explorer”
Apollo “in example”