After years out of the limelight, Apollo has his head back above the roof. At the 2026 Goodwood Festival of Speed, the company revealed its first of ten Apollo Evo hypercars scheduled for production, before handing it over to its owner, marking the beginning of a rebirth for the company.
As Gumpert Apollo assumed legendary status, the company’s IE follow-up of sorts launched with much fanfare. But the company remained out of the public eye for years, while… things went on in the background, ownership changed hands, and goals were redefined.
We sat down with Marco Conta, Apollo Autombil CPO, to talk about the EVO, and where the company is going next.
Apollo EVO hypercar at Goodwood
Photo by: Apollo
Rebirth of a hypercar brand
Earlier this year, the firm let motor1 Loose in, good, intenseThe Apollo Intenza Emozione, which proved to be a good entry in the history of hypercars. It also showed that even though Apollo has been quiet for a while, the cars it has been able to build are incredible.
The speed, the angles, the aura of ‘special’; They may not be for everyone due to limited build slots and ridiculously high prices, but for those who do manage to get their hands on one, it’s an enjoyable experience. A gift worth millions of dollars.
The unveiling of the first EVO feels like a reset for the company. It was given pride of place on the ground floor of a large Apollo show stand next to the famous Goodwood Festival of Speed supercar paddock. When the runs flew back in, they all passed the Apollo Palace, along with a crowd of influencers wielding DJI Osmo hoping to catch a glimpse of the world’s rarest metal.
This is a big step for a company that was quite quiet for the last decade.
‘We’re here at Goodwood because we want people to know that we’re here to deliver and we’re serious. On the other hand, we also want to give fans a chance to truly enjoy the car. That’s why our booth is very open. You can move around in the whole car. You do not need to register to enter.
A very small percentage of people who know about our cars will ever buy one, but that’s not the point. The point is that we want to be accessible to everyone, to fans, to enthusiasts, and of course, to our customers. But most people who know us, we want them to have fun.’
Of course, it would be silly to make a big fuss about handing over a customer and climbing Goodwood’s famous hill, but having the team there is a huge thing for the brand. Ten Apollo EVOs have been sold, and although the company can sell a few more runs without any problems, it will remain small and custom. Konta says:
‘We are not an OEM. This gives us the ability to do things quickly. But small doesn’t mean slow. And also, I mean, it’s one thing to be prompt, but it’s also one thing to be able to offer what the customer wants.’
Photo by: Apollo
The factory in Germany is a wonderful place, but there aren’t acres of space to strap big wings to the back of V12-powered monsters. Plus, if you’re spending millions of dollars on a car, you’ll probably want to know that your car is being carefully built by hand, painstakingly.
There are lots of details to enjoy on EVO number one. Its exhaust is Apollo’s ‘Dragon Skin’ 3D-printed titanium tentacle-esque construction, which over time and some, erm, aggressive heat cycles, will change color and give the car an even more distinctive look.
The car paint is incredible, taking you 1,000 hours to create. To achieve the desired effect, the team painted the entire thing blue, then hand covered the parts they didn’t want white. See the shiny bits in blue? That is diamond dust. You don’t get that on the Camry.
You also don’t get that level of cutting-edge engineering in an everyday car. Although, yes, EVO is related to IE, underneath it is not exactly the same.
‘We have 70 to 80 percent completely new cars. The chassis has been re-engineered. The top is new. The front and rear have been redesigned to meet the latest standards in terms of safety and rigidity. The same applies for suspension geometry.
The IE was state-of-the-art almost a decade ago, exceeding FIA standards for safety. Konta says its sibling is way ahead of the game, meeting LMDh regulations.
Photo by: Apollo
future of apollo
With sales and manufacturing of its existing lineup gone, Apollo may find itself in a difficult situation. It needs to reinvent itself and to do so it needs customer interest. You can’t get through this without talking about things like new cars. What does the future of Apollo look like? Well… balanced:
‘The power to weight ratio is still the most important statistic if you ask me. Gumpert (Apollo) is a very good example of this. Although it is a 20 year old car, it still feels very powerful. But at the same time, it feels like a go-kart.
You have this lightness in the steering, and we have achieved the same feeling in the Evo. It seems very light, although it is not. I mean, it is not less than 1000 kg. But what is more important these days is not the numbers. It’s the feel, the sound and the driving experience that it offers.’
Konta was skeptical about whether the future would be turbocharged. Maybe it will, maybe it won’t, maybe you’ll be able to ask them to strap some lug nuts on the car and get more power. However, this does mean that we probably won’t be seeing the Yangtze U9 Extreme riding the Apollo any time soon.
Photo by: Apollo
However, we will see one on the road… legally. Whether or not the IE or EVO should come with license plates probably depends on how sensitive you are to the local government/country you own in the country you’re driving them in. But the car of the future is likely to be designed for actual road use.
‘Our long-term vision is definitely to offer a product that is allocated for road use. With the racing pedigree that we currently have, and also with the history of being the fastest car in the world… the heritage is still there, and our German philosophy and rebellious German engineering is something we would like to take back to the road.’
Of course, the next car is a long way off, and while Konta isn’t keen to reveal anything at the moment, as we spoke, his gaze turned to EVO number one below. He’s proud of the car and the team that got it to Goodwood, and he wants to drink in as much of his little British bubble of Apollo as possible before heading home.
You can’t blame him for this. In fact, he should be appreciated for this. He loves the company, and by the looks of things, he’ll see it grow in the years to come.
