Supercarmaker Gumpert Confirms Insolvency And Plans For Re-organisation

German supercar manufacturer Gumpert has filed for insolvency protection after a gamble on the Chinese market failed to pay off.

The legal protection afforded under German law means Gumpert will be able to restructure and rebirth itself, if adequate investor funding is found.

Lawyer Gorge Scheid, in charge of the company while it reorganises, said this week that the prospects for Gumpert are good.3

Gumpert was formed in Altenburg in 2004 under the direction of former Audi Sport executive Roland Gumpert. Back then it was known as GMG Sportwagenmanufaktur Altenburg GmbH

Herr Gumpert's time at Audi Sport saw the brand win 25 WRC events and four titles.

The company was formed after Gumpert returned to Germany, following a three year stint in China setting up the Audi-VW dealer network.

Gumpert was approached by MTM owner Roland Meyer for assistance in building a prototype sports car. A year earlier, Gumpert himself had proposed such a thing while still at Audi.

Audi approved Gumpert's involvement, on the condition that the result of the project was a series production car rather than a prototype.

In October 2005, the Apollo was released after development assistance from the Technical University of Munich and the Ingolstadt University of Applied Sciences.

The Apollo used a 4.2 litre twin turbo Audi V8, producing between 478 and 588Kw, depending on the level of tune selected.

The 478 kW version could sprint to 100km/h in 3.1 seconds and on to 360.4km/h.

The car itself is based on a tubular chromoly frame with fibre glass or carbon fibre body panels, weighing as little as 1100kg, again depending on the specification.

The cockpit is a carbon-fibre safety cell and to get in, the driver has to remove the steering wheel.

WTCC driver Florian Gruber took an Apollo Sport around the Nurburgring in an impressive 7m11.57s.

Talks with new investors are expected to start within the week, meaning it may not be long before Apollos are rolling off the line again.