Gumpert Has Risen From The Dead And Lost Its Awful Name
When creating a new supercar company, you really have to make an impression straight off the bat. Gumpert - the brainchild of ex-Audi Sport boss Roland Gumpert - did a pretty good job of that a few years ago with the Apollo, a stupidly quick car with bodywork that was as subtle as a punch in the face. And even that didn’t stop Gumpert going bust, with the company seemingly dying off after declaring bankruptcy in 2013.
Why do we say ‘seemingly’? Because Gumpert is back. Sort of. According to reports, Gumpert has been purchased by Consolidated Ideal TeamVenture - the same group of investors that bought the DeTomaso brand in April last year - but where it gets interesting is the name. The ‘Gumpert’ brand has been shelved, and the company has been renamed ‘Apollo Automobil GmbH’. That’s not such a bad thing, since - and we mean no offence to Herr Roland here - ‘Gumpert’ is a dreadful name for a supercar.
From the re-branded company we can expect a “brand new” Apollo codenamed ‘Arrow’; a car we’ll see in the metal as soon as the Geneva motor show in March. We might even be seeing it in some form even sooner than that, as Apollo’s new website currently has a count-down on it, which hits 0 on 11 January. Watch this space…
Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.
Comments
About time! Gumpert sounded like a character from Last of the Summer Wine, or Father Ted.
I’ll agree that Gumpert isn’t a great name, but if the car had done well, and the company had taken off. Given time and the name probably would have gotten better to hear. If Ferrari started today, I wonder how many people would find the name stupid. This is one of those things we may never know, because any time you think of Ferrari, you think of the incredible cars they have made, and the history that has made the company a household name for fast, beautiful cars.
Personally, I thought Gumpert was a pretty good, an odd name, but an interesting one.
To me, the name Gumpert conjures up an odd bubble car type of vehicle like this:
http://media1.break.com/dnet/media/2008/12/47%20The%20Original%20Smart%20Car.jpg
Am I the only person who thinks Gumpert Apollo sounded total badass?!
So does this mean that the old “Gumpert Apollo” now be known as the “Apollo Apollo”?
Can’t wait to see what they come up with!
I hope they don’t shorten the name to AA
What was the specs on that old thing any way
Are you blind?? Who the hell thinks the Apollo is ugly? Just because Jeremy Clarkson claims it, doesnt mean its true…
Today is a bad day for my name :D
Will they make the new car at the old factory?