Gumpert applies for insolvency

Many moons ago on Top Gear, the chaps received a letter from a gentleman who had received a botched eye job. He required a vehicle that was a) catastrophically ugly, and b) biblically fast. We presented to him the Gumpert Apollo.

It fulfilled both those criteria many times over, being both hugely offensive to sight, and hugely astonishing on the track. For a time, it even topped our Power Lap leaderboard with a scorching time of 1m 17.1s. And for a time, it was good.

So today's news comes as a bit of a shock: the mad German hypercar builder has applied for insolvency.

Gallery: the Gumpert Apollo R and Gumpert Apollo 'Enraged'

Apparently, the ‘super sports car' manufacturer's projected sales in their major target market of China had fallen through, and thus, a local court has appointed a lawyer named Mr Scheid as insolvency administrator.

"It's essential to reactive the European market," said Mr Scheid, "which has been neglected over the past years." Apparently, the first discussions with investors are taking place this week, and production of the Apollo is actually continuing - so much so, the company plans to sell its first vehicle very soon indeed.

Of course, insolvency doesn't instantly mean bankruptcy, but it's not good news - cars like the Gumpert simply need to exist. Have a click through the gallery above to see what Mr Roland Gumpert - a former Audi man - brought to the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year (clue: something angry), and tell us below if you're a bit saddened by this news. After all, they even managed to build a hypercar that didn't require spontaneous retinal detachment, with the Gumpert Tornante...

Download Top Gear Wallpapers: Gumpert vs Noble