German supercar manufacturer Gumpert Sportwagenmanufactur GmbH, which builds the wildly quick Gumpert Apollo, has applied for provisional insolvency after running out of cash.
The sports car company was relying on a move into the lucrative Chinese market, although the venture didn’t work out according to the company’s plans and in the process has dried up its operating capital.
Roland Gumpert founded Gumpert in 2004, following a stint as a director at Audi Sport during which time the company won four World Rally Championship titles.
The Gumpert Apollo Sport model still holds one of the fastest ever lap times around the famed Nurburgring Nordschleife. On August 13, 2009 the Apollo Sport clocked an incredible 7:11.57 with Florian Gruber behind the wheel.
The only street legal production car to top the Gumpert’s time is the Radical SR8 with a time of 6:48.
It’s not all doom and gloom for Gumpert, however. Administrator Görge Schied believes the business’ chances of recovery to be extremely good with investor discussions under way this week.
Roland Gumpert was also confident of the company’s ability to bounce back, and said, “The Apollo has gained an exclusive fan base throughout Germany and Europe. Now we have taken care of this customer base intensely. Production continues and we hope to sell the first vehicle within this week.”
Check out the video of the Apollo at the Nurburgring.