The Apollo IE May Be Capable of 1,000 Horsepower, Revving to 11,000 RPM

Apollo says its Intensa Emozione hypercar can rev to 11,000 RPM and make 1,000 horsepower—if someone can pay for the development.

byJames Gilboy|
The Apollo IE May Be Capable of 1,000 Horsepower, Revving to 11,000 RPM
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Never before have multimillionaires been so spoilt for choice in the market of thousand-plus horsepower hypercars. Their decision is about to get a lot simpler, as Apollo Automobil stated in a video released Thursday that its limited-run Intensa Emozione hypercar, with its naturally aspirated, 780-horsepower, 6.3 liter V12 is capable of even more power and rpm with further development.

"We've done a feasibility study that basically at an additional cost [sic], if a client wishes, we can do further development work on the engine to extract 1,000 horsepower, still being naturally aspirated," stated Ryan Berris, general manager of Apollo Automobil, in a video released by Carfection. "The engine would rev to over 11,000 rpm, and would have a compression ratio of 16.5:1."

"780 to 800 horsepower is more than enough, especially because the car is lightweight," continued Berris, with regard to why the IE does not already make this power figure already.

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But why, if the Apollo IE is capable of these benchmarks, does it not already achieve them?

"We have the capability and means to do so ourselves, however the reason it is a cost-option for the clients (if they so desire) is because the IE was never meant to be a numbers car," explained Berris in an email to The Drive. "It is all about the analog, emotional driving experience, which is why we as a manufacturer believe that the output of around 800 horsepower and 1,250 weight [sic] is more than enough as this is an aero/corners car and not a straight line dragster."

"To be honest, it would certainly affect the usability of the car to a degree as it would be even further race oriented and also would sacrifice on the reliability perspective as the engine would have to be inspected every 10,000 kilometers or so."

Berris confirmed that any cars built to this specification will be among the limited run of ten planned by the company. He also speculated that these engine upgrades could force use of high-octane fuel, 98 or above.

More production cars than ever before are breaking into four-figure horsepower territory. The Apollo IE, developed with the aid of Mercedes-AMG spinoff HWA, is not yet a member of this club, but the right cash infusion from a customer could in theory sponsor its entry. Of greater interest is that the Apollo IE is part of a smaller group of high-revving, naturally aspirated hypercars, a battleground wherein its only current competition is the 700 horsepower Brabham BT62. Few other modern hypercars—the Brabham included—rev anywhere near 9,000 RPM, let alone beyond. The Mercedes-AMG Project One will do 11,000 with its Formula 1-derived, turbocharged, 1.6-liter hybrid V6, but its engine doesn't quite compare with a 6.3-liter, naturally aspirated V12. Few things do.

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