The Apollo Evo is probably the most extreme hypercar ever to come out of Germany, and it will soon be part of the Hamilton Collection. The car is expected to be delivered by the end of this year.

The Apollo Evo is an evolution of the equally outrageous Apollo IE (Intensa Emozione). While the company has made several improvements to make the car more usable, it still looks like a fire-breathing creature from Avatar.

Only 10 examples are being produced, and the final chassis has been reserved for the Hamilton Collection. The carbon fibre monocoque that will form the backbone of the Apollo Evo is ready. It even has a plaque with the Hamilton Collection logo.

At its heart is a 6.3-liter naturally aspirated V12 engine that revs to 8,500 rpm and produces 800 hp and 564 lb-ft of torque. It uses a Hewland sequential six-speed transmission, which is operated via paddle shifters, with 100% of the power going to the rear axle.

The Apollo Evo is capable of accelerating from 0-62 mph in just 2.5 seconds. and will reach 208 mph on the open road.

Yet the new dual-motor version boasts the most arresting numbers. This top-spec model bumps power up to a colossal 442bhp and drops the 0-62mph time down to 3.9 seconds.

Beyond the powertrain improvements, BYD’s also given the Atto 3 EVO a new set of digital interfaces, with sharper, larger screens, and re-arranged the cabin layout. There’s some new colour and trim options inside, plus several simplified panels on the exterior that give the fairly anodyne design a cleaner look. Amongst urban traffic, the Atto 3 completely blends into the background, so depending on your preferences this is either a good or bad thing. 

Precise UK pricing hasn’t been announced, but it’ll be more expensive than the £37,000 starting price of the current car. The dual-motor version will be in the low £40,000s.

There are other manufacturers out there with impressive models at this price point. Rivals such as the former Auto Express Car of the Year Skoda Elroq, Kia EV3 and new Nissan Leaf impress at the smaller end of the C-segment, with larger but no more expensive rivals like the Citroen e-C5 Aircross and Vauxhall Grandland improving the value-for-money proposition yet further. 

For now, we’re only driving the entry-level rear-drive car that should make up a majority of UK sales. And given the level of technical change compared with the previous Atto 3, it’s not surprising to note that it drives quite differently, if not in a particularly positive sense.

At low speeds the steering feels a little bit rubbery, and has a tendency to hobble over speed humps. A collection of inconsistent bumps can rock the body side to side in quite an unpleasant way. It is quiet in general, but we found that – particularly under regen – the e-motor emits a very high-frequency whine. It’s not loud, but it is persistent; we’ll have to verify if this is still an issue on cars when they arrive in the UK.