Apollo is the name of a European automaking company, specialized in the design and production of luxury sports cars. The brand was established in 2004 in Germany, by Roland Gumpert, and named after its founder, the ex-director of Audi Sport. Today Apollo is considered to be one of the best world brands in its segment.
The name “Apollo” came up only in 2016, and before then the car marque existed under the name Gumpert, after its founder, Roland Gumpert. Though the company hasn’t changed its profile, high-performance cars, the new name, and visual identity concept made it look and be more chic and sophisticated.
The original badge of Gumpert was introduced in 2004 and stayed with the marque for twelve years until it got a new name. The badge boasted a traditional crest shape with the sides arched from the center. The main color of the crest was bloody-red, with a light gold frame, outlined in black. Both the body and the frame of the emblem featured gradient shades and glossy texture, which made it three-dimensional and added a sense of motion.
As for the main elements of the Gumpert visual identity, they comprised a white image of a griffin, a mythological creature with the head and wings of an eagle and a body of a lion, and a black custom lettering, placed on the upper thick part of the gold frame.
The Griffin was drawn in a very exquisite and fine way, with delicate details and thin yet distinct lines. It was facing right and evokes a sense of courage, royalty, and determination.
The bold stylized lettering had the contours square and wide, though the softened angles of the letters made it look more friendly than brutal, creating a sense of confidence and exclusiveness. And the thin black outline of the golden frame only elevated this feeling, creating a stronger contrast between the elements.
With the change of the marque’s name to Apollo in 2016, the new logo was introduced by the company. It is still a crest shape, but a stricter and narrower one. The black body, enclosed into a voluminous silver frame was just one symbol on it — a stylized letter “A”, which is also executed in silver with a three-dimensional effect and has its bars resembling sword blades.
There are two different variations of the Apollo shield — with a matte black background, and with a more aggressive one, having a gradient red and orange part in the bottom, looking like a flame and reflecting the character of the brand and its power.
Despite the minimalist composition of the Apollo logo — a shield with just one letter — it looks extremely strong and contemporary, showing the company from its best sides and evoking a sense of confidence in the quality and design of its cars.
The Apollo crest with the stylized “A” on it is sometimes accompanied by a logotype, which color depends on the crest — with the black background the logotype is usually executed in light gray, and with the “Flame” one — in black. Though the typeface of the lowercase inscription stays untouched — it is always written in bold custom sans-serifs with the vertical bars of the letters diagonally cut and pointed. The Apollo italicized typeface with open contours I had something in common with such fonts as Atures and Logic, but with the lines modified and contours softened.
The color palette of the Apollo visual identity is built around a combination of black and silver, which is sometimes accompanied by the gradient flame scheme, consisting of yellow, orange, and red shades, going darker from bottom to top and finishing with black. This palette represents the passion, speed, and power of the brand and its cars, it also looks very stylish and modern, and with the sharp silver elements — sleek and luxurious. The timeless black and gray combo is a sign of precision and elegance, which will always be actual and trendy.