You don’t want to be the guy who crashes someone else’s US$550,000 supercar.
That’s obvious, but never more so than when you watch a half-million-dollar car getting towed from the racetrack into a garage where the frowning owners stand.
I wasn’t that guy, thank heaven. It was the dude right after me who lost control of the bright-orange Gumpert Apollo, helicoptering off the track and into a tire wall, cratering the nose.
PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
I drove about six laps in the violently powerful, German-made supercar, treating it like a pit viper with irritable bowel syndrome. Very, very delicately.
As mechanics pulled off the mangled front fascia, it seemed like a lesson: When dreaming of supercars, be careful what you dream.
The little-known Gumpert has DNA similar to that of the Pagani Zonda, Koenigsegg CCX and SSC Ultimate Aero. All are strangely named, oddly designed supercars, with doors that open in weird ways and extraordinary price tags.
PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
My one drive of the US$600,000-plus Aero ended with the scissor doors up by the side of a Las Vegas road, as my companion and I waited for help after the engine mysteriously died.
I may be critical of the price of the US$400,000 Lexus LFA I tested, but I do know where to get it serviced.
The Apollo uses an Audi V-8 with twin turbochargers, and the three models — Base, Speed and Race — have between 650 and 800 horsepower. The cost is (cough) US$550,000 to US$800,000. For what is basically a civilian race car, I’m unaware of a race series in which you might actually compete.
Who is a typical owner then?
A bit unclear. After all, there are only two in the US, including the unsold prototype I drove.
Because the Apollo hasn’t been fitted with air bags or crash-tested in the US, it’s sold as a “roller,” meaning the drive train and body are shipped separately and assembled stateside. Registration laws vary by state, but you may have to register it as a kit car.
The prototype has been brought out by its US distributors, Evolution Motorsports, of Tempe, Arizona, to be test-driven by prospective buyers and automotive press at Monticello Motor Club, a private membership racetrack in the Catskills.
“We expect to sell five a year to enthusiasts like the guys here at Monticello,” Evolution owner Todd Zuccone said. “There’s interest from a Miami client who’ll drive it to nightclubs, but the car’s really meant for the track.”
Drive a car like that to a nightclub? I don’t think so.
The gullwing doors are cool, but when you open one you’ll find no actual seats. Just a bench and padding attached to the back of the protective cockpit. Squeezing in requires three yoga poses and the removal of the steering wheel. No joke.
Creature comforts are scant. The windows roll down and the steering column moves. There’s even a backup camera, which is handy as there’s no back window.
“This is like driving a Daytona prototype race car,” warns Monticello track director and pro Grand-Am driver Sam Schultz, sentenced to ride shotgun. “Drive gently.”
Monticello is a technical racetrack with a long back straightaway where I’ve gone more than 240kph in other sports cars. Later in the day, pro driver Schultz will take the Apollo to an indicated 325kph.
I’m not Schultz, though, so I follow his directive and baby the Apollo — easy on the gas and cautious with the steering.
Even so, I reach dizzying speeds on the straight. Power comes on like a jet engine, hard and limitless. The steering is incredibly tight — I barely move my hands to turn. The very stiff brakes need a good firm push to haul us back down.
As I pit off the track, I think I’ll be able to get back out there and push harder in the afternoon.
Then the accident happens and we all stand around as the Evolution crew inspects the damage. The engine is OK and over the next couple of hours they put the nose back together.
Meanwhile, others want their chance and the line grows long. My day is over.
Perhaps it’s for the best. Sometimes supercar dreams can go seriously wrong.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
The Philippines yesterday criticized a “high-risk” maneuver by a Chinese vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in a rare incident involving warships from the two navies. The Scarborough Shoal — a triangular chain of reefs and rocks in the contested South China Sea — has been a flash point between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012. Taiwan also claims the shoal. Monday’s encounter took place approximately 11.8 nautical miles (22km) southeast” of the Scarborough Shoal, the Philippine military said, during ongoing US-Philippine military exercises that Beijing has criticized as destabilizing. “The Chinese frigate BN 554 was
RSS