TPC Apollo IE vs Peako64 DeTomaso P72 FEATURETTE
Gumpert: German tradition in Chinese hands. A bright future ahead?
In 2012, the Gumpert company filed for insolvency. The rights to the Apollo brand were sold to a foreign investor. This investor, Ideal Team Ventures from Hong Kong, founded Apollo Automobil GmbH with its headquarters in Denkendorf, Upper Bavaria. It is the direct successor to Gumpert Sportwagenmanufaktur. The legendary sports car brand De Tomaso is also part of Ideal Team Ventures' portfolio. We once had the chance to talk to Norman Choi, the new founder so to speak, when he presented the DeTomaso P72 in Switzerland in 2021. He is a very interesting personality who is taking DeTomaso and Gumpert to new heights.
The corresponding model variants of the vehicles also come from China, in keeping with this article. TPC supplies us with the Apollo IE in orange with additional design accents. Incidentally, this version is a 1:1 replica of the vehicle owned by Barry Skolnick, entrepreneur and philanthropist from Ikonick Motors Miami. He owns one of the most impressive car and art collections in the world! Some time ago, Peako64 provided us with the DeTomaso P72 in a beautiful red colour with bronze accents, which is reminiscent of the 2019 prototype version.
DeTomaso: A welcoming reincarnation?
De Tomaso was an Italian manufacturer of racing and road sports cars. The company, founded by Argentinian-born Alejandro de Tomaso, was based in Modena. At times, it was closely linked to the Ford Group, which supplied the engines for almost all of the brand's production vehicles. Names such as Pantera or Mangusta come to mind when we think of DeTomaso. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2012 and was then acquired by deal Team Ventures in 2015. The first P72s are due to find their way to customers in 2024. While it was quite quick for Peako64 to produce a suitable model for the collection, it took even longer for the Apollo IE. SIKU did bring out a model a few years ago, but for us at least, it was disappointing all along the line.
Apollo IE in detail...
The Apollo IE is a completely unique hypercar, built with emotion and an extraordinary design. The Apollo IE is to be followed by the Apollo Arrow. As far as we know, however, there is not yet a suitable 1:64 scale model. The aerodynamics are built with genes that can be attributed to a typical super sports car. At a speed of 300 km/h, the IE generates 1.3 tonnes of downforce. This value alone places the new Apollo in the category of thoroughbred LMP2 racing cars. The Apollo IE is designed to arouse intense emotions "Intensa Emozione". The pure passion of driving a unique vehicle with a soundscape that is absolutely unique and beyond good and evil! The Apollo Intensa Emozione's 780 hp engine comes from Ferrari and is also installed in the F12 Berlinetta and the Ferrari Purosangue, for example. Ten examples were planned since the premiere in 2017.
The fact is. Opinions are divided on both models, either you like the unique design of the respective vehicles or you give them a wide berth. One thing is clear: there will never be anything like these two, the DeTomaso P72 or the Apollo IE, ever again. A piece of contemporary automotive history of extremes!
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