That's right, the one and only Apollo IE finally did a bit of road driving of course taking advantage of Top Marques Monaco to get extra attention.
Top automotive brass like Benz CEO Dieter Zetsche believes that the car will eventually die. But they're wrong. The car is like an onion: layered. Even though the world has things like the Bugatti Chiron and Lamborghini Centenario, people with deep pockets are still looking for that next layer of exclusivity.
Right now, the Apollo IE is right at the very core of it all, a molten piece of smoldering fiery intensity. I mean, look at it covered in young car fans with expensive DSLR cameras. Can you really tell me V12 engines that sound this good can ever be obsolete?
An overpriced, unique car like this in a supercar-unfriendly place like Monaco is a little ridiculous. This is a PR stunt put together by the company which makes the Intensa Emozione in the hope of selling all ten examples that are to be built.
This particular version is covered in a shade of paint called Purple Dragon, trimmed with plenty of carbon fiber and finished off with some gold wheels. While not exactly classy, the body looks out-of-this-world thanks to a myriad of creases and winglets.
"We felt that all the technological advancement and automation in today’s supercars took away the pure, raw emotional connection between driver and car. We wanted to build a car that would fill that void separating car and driver. So we built the Apollo IE," Norman Choi explains.
While the shape makes some people think this is a McLaren, the powerplant underneath that big wing is from Ferrari. A V12 engine delivers the goods in the form of 780 HP and 760 Nm (560 lb-ft). Thanks in part to a super-light body, the IE is capable of getting to 100 km/h in 2.7 seconds and offers a top speed of 208 mph (335 km/h), though that kind of driving is frowned upon in Monaco.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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