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Luxist Drives the Ferocious and Near-Mythological Gumpert Apollo

Now this here is a fascinating little creature, a compound of contradictions. It goes by the unlikely name of the Gumpert Apollo, named first forRoland Gumpert, practically the father of Audi's Quattro system yet his creation is rear-wheel-drive only. The second name is for both the Greek god who had nothing to do with speed or handling prowess, and a space mission whose only intersection with cars was a lunar rover. The Gumpert Apollo's badge, however, depicts a Griffin, a creature with the body of a lion and head and wings of an eagle, which is an Indian or Central Asian creation that has essentially no connection to Apollo.

Nevertheless, these ostensible discrepancies live together beautifully in the compact body of the Gumpert Apollo: Roland Gumpert's aim was racing and two driven wheels are all that are allowed in most categories. Apollo might not have been the god of driving, but he did count victory among his oversight portfolio, something the Apollo car is quite familiar with. The Apollo space missions did represent, at the time, the ultimate in proven high-technology. And the Griffin, as a mix of the kings of beasts and birds, represents mastery of land and air. We got to drive it, and we have never found anything like it anywhere else on the planet. The words we found to describe it are these: Hoe. Lee. Cow.

Gallery: Luxist Drives the Gumpert Apollo