We’re rounding off our Best of 2011 lists with one that is near and dear to our hearts. This list is all about top speed and top speed only, those who have it and one who hopes to achieve it.
Of course, speed hopes are nothing new. The battle for the fastest car in the world has been ongoing since the sports and super cars first made their appearance and more than likely, it will never end. These past couple years have been a game of one-upmanship between SSC and Bugatti with both succeeding in one way or another. But who tops the list for 2011?
Before getting into that, we think it is important to note that we only incorporated vehicles that were sold in 2011. For example, the Koenigsegg CCX may have a top speed of 240 mph, but that production ended in 2010, which takes the supercar out of the running for this list in particular. Don’t worry, though, Koenigsegg is still well-represented.
Hit the jump to see the top ten list of the fastest cars of 2011.
When people drive fast vehicles at high speeds, accidents are bound to happen. When these people happen to be professional Formula One race car drivers, the numbers of accidents decrease, but still exist. Just ask German F1 driver, Adrian Sutil, who had a little trouble keeping the Gumpert Apollo steady during some testing at the Nurburgring.
Apparently, Sutil was in the middle of testing when he lost control and crashed the Apollo. The Apollo escaped with just a few repairs, but apparently Sutil suffered a few broken teeth. No other injuries were reported.
As a reminder, the Gumpert Apollo is powered by a 4.2-liter bi-turbo 8-cylinder engine and weighs in at around 2400 lbs. It can sprint from 0 to 60 mph in 2.9 seconds and can hit a top speed of 225 mph. Apparently, it’s a little more difficult to keep a 700 HP supercar at bay than it is a Formula One car. Okay, not even we believe that, but we’re sure the F1 cars have more safety devices in place just in case an accident does occur.
“It has always been a dream of mine to have a car that has so much downforce, such aerodynamic efficiency that you could drive on the roof of a tunnel at high speed - and this car can.”
These were the words of Roland Gumpert a little over a decade ago when he was fresh of leaving his job as the director of Audi Sport. During his tenure with the Ingolstadt-based automaker, he oversaw a team that won a total of 25 World Rally Championship races and four World Rally Championship titles.
In 2004, Gumpert officially founded GMG Sportwagenmanufaktur Altenburg GmbH in Altenburg, Germany, thus paving the way for the birth of one of the most exotic niche German supercars of the past decade: the Gumpert Apollo. Since it’s debut in 2006, Gumpert has developed four different versions of the Apollo, including the recently debuted 2010 Apollo Sport that made its first appearance at last year’s Geneva Auto Show.
In the six years since its debut, Gumpert has gone from the Apollo to the 2010 Apollo Sport, an impressive run of supercars that has become a fashionable name in the industry, giving Gumpert all the validation he needed when he said that he wanted to build his own supercar on his own terms.
Just in case you’ve forgotten about this 800-horsepower blue devil, You Tube’s Marchettino has gone ahead and released a video of the incomparable Gumpert Apollo doing what it does best in its natural habitat: hitting up the Monza circuit in Italy for a couple of flying laps.
According to Marchettino, this particular Apollo is the only one of its kind in Italy, a bit surprising considering that the country is well known for having some of the fastest and most powerful machines on the planet. Be that as it may, watching the Apollo run roughshod over Monza reminded us just how fast and powerful this German wonder car really is.
Be advised that the ‘standard’ – looser words have never been spoken - Gumpert Apollo is powered by an Audi-sourced 4.2-liter bi-turbo V8 engine that produces 650 horsepower with the Sport trim checking out at 700 horsepower.
This particular model, though, has been modified to produce a staggering 800 horsepower and as the video clearly shows you, all that power coming out from the Apollo is definitely a sight to behold.
While everyone is waiting for the next generation Toyota MR2, a guy decided to turn his into a Gumpert Apollo. We’ve seen lots of replicas, but this one is one of the strangest ones!
This is a one-of-a-kind (thank God!) concept, featuring a Toyota MR2 frame along with the modern conveniences of airbags, power windows, power locks, air conditioning, exhaust, and suspension.
Of course, you guessed it, under the hood there is nothing compared to the Audi-sourced 4.2-liter, twin-turbo V8 with 650HP from the Apollo! Instead the owner used a four-cylinder turbo engine, dynoded at 255 whp at 15 psi and 303 whp at around 19 psi. The car meets all regulations and is extremely economical in term of gasoline.
The interior combines black suede leather with red piping and Racing Sparco seats with Racing Harnesses - also in a combination of black and red.
The car is for sale on eBay with a current bid of $12,100.
