Apollo (1910 automobile)

Not to be confused with Apollo (1906 automobile).

Illustration racing car "Apollo 30PS" from 1921

The Apollo was a German automobile manufactured by Ruppe & Son of Apolda in Thuringia from 1910 to 1927; the company had previously offered a car called the Piccolo. The first Apollo was called the "Mobbel", and featured an air-cooled 624 cc single-cylinder IOE engine. The company also offered air-cooled 1608 cc in-line fours and a 1575 cc V-4. Four separate cylinders inline powered the model "E" (1770 cc). The model "B", designed by racing driver Karl Slevogt, had an OHV 960 cc four-cylinder engine. Another of his creations had an OHV 2040 cc engine. Other Apollos had sidevalve four-cylinder engines of up to 3440 cc; some post-1920 models featured wishbone suspension. The last cars produced by the company had OHV 1200 cc four-cylinder engines; some had sidevalve 1551 cc Steudel four-cylinder power units instead. The designer of two-stroke engines, Hugo Ruppe, was the factory founder's son; in 1920 Apollo took over his air-cooled MAF cars. During the mid-1920s, Slevogt raced cars of this marque with streamlined Jaray bodies.