Gumpert Apollo Sport sets Nurburgring lap record

Gumpert Apollo Sport sets Nurburgring lap record
The Gumpert Apollo Sport has set a new lap record for a road-legal production car at the Nürburgring-Nordschleife track as timed and reported by German magazine Sport-Auto.

The Audi-powered Apollo Sport was piloted by 26 year-old driver Florian Gruber on August 13th as the record time of exactly 7m11.57s was set. According to Sport-Auto the record was previously held by Michael Düchting clocking in 7m14.89s on a Donkervoort D8 RS06 in November 2005. However, if our memory serves correctly, wasn't it the Radical SR8 in road legal trim that clocked 6m55s?

The 700 hp of the car is provided by a 4.2 liter, bi-turbo V8 engine supplied by Audi. It propels the Gumpert Apollo from 0 to 200 km/h in 8.9 seconds and gives the car a top speed of 360 km/h.
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aarononymousaarononymous - 8/18/2009 2:27:42 PM
+2 Boost
AUDI P-P-P-Power!


inspirion7inspirion7 - 8/18/2009 4:12:42 PM
+2 Boost
Audi is on the rise, the ugly truth.


tom43tom43 - 8/18/2009 4:24:22 PM
+2 Boost
Radical SR8 time is not approved by officials and it is not street legal in Germany and many, many other countries.


Joe_LimonJoe_Limon - 8/18/2009 5:12:57 PM
+5 Boost
Of course! Isn't that a good measure to how successful your run is? If you can get Porsche that jealous you're doing something right.


100octane100octane - 8/20/2009 11:50:48 AM
+1 Boost
you should read the article. the time was clocked by an independent magazine called "sport auto"


inspirion7inspirion7 - 8/18/2009 5:18:55 PM
+2 Boost
The gravity of this, the car didn't just dust the other records, it sunk them like battles ships. Gave the Night Quill and said bye, bye. Look at the lap records...


Gumpert Apollo Sport, and on August 13, one piloted by a 26-year-old named Florian Gruber ran around the Nurburgring in 7:11:57, shattering all the other production car "records" by eleven seconds or more.

Porsche GT2 @7:32

Nissan GT-R @7:29

Chevy Corvette ZR1 @7:26.4

Dodge Viper ACER @7:22.1


Joe_LimonJoe_Limon - 8/18/2009 6:10:24 PM
0 Boost
The SR8 is as much if not more of a production car then the Viper that was used. The viper was adjusted to get that time so many people discredit it's time. The SR8 annihilates the Gumpert by an even bigger lead, I can't wait till some suicidal person gets one of the Atom 500's on the ring :)


100octane100octane - 8/20/2009 11:55:27 AM
+1 Boost
the same magazine that clocked the gumpert wasn't able to go any faster than 7:38 in the gt-r and it's still the fastest independent lap time ever recorded. let's call the >7:30 times nissan marketing rumours or v-spec times


tom43tom43 - 8/18/2009 6:11:05 PM
+2 Boost
Florian Gruber said to the Sport Auto magazine, that this car has the potential to run the Nordschleife in under 7min...there will be a follow-on run later this year.


FanboyOfTheTruthFanboyOfTheTruth - 8/18/2009 6:14:32 PM
+3 Boost
Calling these tuner-specials "road-legal production cars" makes me laugh. Yeah they are probably legal in a few of the wacky European countries where safety and environment-compatibility are not taken seriously. The *real* roal-legal production cars like the Porshce GT2 and Nissan GT-R all have to have airbags and be conservative enough in engine tuning to be able to pass the US safety and environmental regulations. Those tuner-specials, on the other hand, are simply race cars with some countries irresponsible enough to let them on the public road.


inspirion7inspirion7 - 8/18/2009 7:28:50 PM
0 Boost
Fanboy, if that were the truth, then how could the record against production cars like the GT2 and GT-R stand? You probably haven't heard of the Apollo and automatically displaced it as not legit. Wrong.

The Gumpert Apollo is the perfect synthesis between road vehicle and racing car. It exceeds all expectations with its passion and maximum driving fun. 650 HP, up to 360 km/h top-speed and an acceleration of 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.0 seconds make it a full-blooded super sports car to which there is no alternative. The complete package is available at a cost-performance ratio unequalled in this exclusive vehicle class.

Roland Gumpert, founder, managing director and the driving force behind Sportwagenmanufaktur, has created a manufacturing environment that combines engineering excellence with a broad automotive and racing competence. Experts within the motorsports scene are all familiar with the name Gumpert: In the mid 1970s, the long-standing Audi manager was the driving force behind the development of the four-wheel drive "Iltis", the original predecessor of today's "Quattro". In 1979 he not only succeeded in preparing the gnarled four-wheel drive "Iltis" for the Paris-Dakar rally, but also achieved victory. In the years that followed under his management, Audi Sport won a total of 25 World Rally Championship races and was the 4-time winner of the World Rally Championship. Gumpert's professional success is distinguished by his ability to combine innovative ideas with proven technology effectively and successfully.

The Gumpert Apollo is not the only sports car on the market; however its concept is so unique and realised so consistently that it aspires to redefine the standard for this vehicle class. The Gumpert Apollo has more to offer:

Approved both for use on the road and on the track
Maximum safety in accordance with the international motor racing standards
Low curb weight of below 1,200 kg (2,645 lbs.)
Perfect road-holding and ultra-precise handling
Maximum driving pleasure and unbeatable driving performance
Excellent aerodynamic efficiency and driving dynamics
Synthesis of reliable racing and series technology
Unique, futuristic, and striking design
Best cost-benefit ratio


FanboyOfTheTruthFanboyOfTheTruth - 8/18/2009 8:01:46 PM
+1 Boost
Nice recitation of the PR. Let me know when it is approved for road use outside of the few irresponsible Euro lands. Until then, it's simply a racer not a world-class production car.


FanboyOfTheTruthFanboyOfTheTruth - 8/18/2009 8:13:16 PM
+2 Boost
Bottom line is, it's easier to extract maximum performance when you target the markets with the most lenient regulations for road cars.

Porsche and Nissan would easily be able to match or beat Gumpert's effort if the GT2 and GT-R were developed specifically for the few countries that approved such tuner specials for road use.


FanboyOfTheTruthFanboyOfTheTruth - 8/18/2009 8:31:15 PM
+2 Boost
...and the Gumpert Apollo Sport's performance would've been much toned down if it were to be sold world-wide.


inspirion7inspirion7 - 8/19/2009 10:08:29 AM
-1 Boost
I truly don't believe you Fanboy. You can't accept the fact that anyone could put out other than the status badge hags. it is what it is rather you accept it or not.


FanboyOfTheTruthFanboyOfTheTruth - 8/19/2009 11:55:06 AM
+1 Boost
inspiron7:
It is what it is--a tuner-special whose development constraint is bound ONLY by countries with the most lenient regulations in the modern world.

It is not world-class.

Why do you think nobody bothered to bring up the Radical SR8, the supposed "production road car nurburgring lap time record holder" with a sub-7-minute lap time, when the records set by the GT2, GT-R, and the ZR1, etc. were announced in the media? Because tuner-specials like the Radical and the Gumpert are not truly road-legal and cannot be brought up in the same breath as the world-class cars from Porsche, Nissan and GM. Until Radical and Gumpert start making cars that conform to the world standards, their records will be noted but not recognized.


freshseth83freshseth83 - 8/18/2009 8:51:11 PM
+1 Boost
did anyone else see the vid of the viper being trashed by a held up LFA? if not then go to the front page and click on video's and you'll see it. It was rumored that the LFA before it even went to the 24 hour race that it could do 7:10 lap times. I'd like to see a video of this against the LFA. This time without the traffic.


993Turbo993Turbo - 8/19/2009 7:00:29 AM
+1 Boost
Yes, but can you drive it to work?


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