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.