Geneva Show 2011 Highlights: Gumpert Tornante Concept

German supercar maker Gumpert has unveiled its long rumoured second model at the Geneva motor show.

Called the Tornante, the new car has been developed in partnership with Italian based Touring Superleggera, which is responsible for the new two seater’s styling.

Conceived to provide greater comfort, practicality, refinement and long distance touring attributes than the extreme Apollo – Gumpert’s initial model launched in 2005, the first deliveries of the Tornante are planned to get under way in 2012.

An initial sketch of the new car reveals it boasts more cohesive and contemporary styling than the Apollo, which will continue to be produced in small numbers alongside the Tornante at Gumpert’s workshop in Altenburg, Germany.

Gumpert describes the look of the new car as “clean, efficient and well balanced”. Features brought over from the Apollo include gullwing style doors and a wide rear hood. The fledgling German supercar maker also says the two-seat Tornante boasts “innovative proportions within the rear section”. This is thought to be a reference to receiving a longer rear section than the Apollo for a larger fuel tank and greater luggage carrying capacity.

Based around a chrome-molybdenum steel frame, the Tornante inherits the same engine as Gumpert’s more extreme Apollo. The Audi-based twin-turbocharged 4.2-litre V8 has been tuned to deliver 700bhp. Mounted behind the cabin, it sends drive to the rear wheels via a sequential six-speed gearbox with paddle shift control.

No performance figures for the new car have been revealed just yet, but the lighter and smaller Apollo, developed largely at the demanding Nurburgring circuit in Germany, is claimed to hit 62mph in 3.1secs and reach a top speed of 224mph. The Apollo also established what was then a lap record for production cars at the Nurburgring in 2009 of 7min11.57sec.

Underpinning Gumpert’s second model is a modified version of the Apollo’s double wishbone suspension that has been modified and tuned for greater compliance and comfort.

Thanks to: Autocar