The Apollo was a rebadged Ford Verona sold as the sportier option, yet its gearshift used a steel rod instead of a cable and owners hated it.
Lead trim: Apollo 1.8 AP (AP 1800) petrol (90 hp) · up to 104 hp
Volkswagen Apollo1990–1992
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Volkswagen Apollo yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactThe Apollo was a rebadged Ford Verona sold as the sportier option, yet its gearshift used a steel rod instead of a cable and owners hated it.
The Volkswagen Apollo was essentially a re-branded Ford Verona sold from 1990 to 1992 by Autolatina, more expensive and marketed as a sportier model, only available with the 1.8 L AP engine. Compared with the Verona it has only minor differences: shorter gear ratios, stiffer shock absorbers, a different dashboard with orange lighting (unlike the Verona it does not share the Escort's dashboard), smoked tail lights very similar to the Ford Sapphire's, chrome-less rear window frames, fixed-height front seats, painted mirrors (GLS) and an airfoil; the first model years had clear front turn-signal lenses where the Verona had orange. Trims were GL (base) and GLS, with a VIP special edition in 1991; a recurrent owner complaint was the steel rod-operated gear shift instead of a cable, and both cars had cambering issues partly because the rear suspension was not adequately designed for a saloon. Total Apollo production was 53,130 (Brazilian sales 13,494 in 1990, 26,976 in 1991 and 10,437 in 1992; 17th, 8th and 15th best-selling car). The 1.8 L AP made 91 PS (90 hp) on petrol and 105 PS (104 hp) on ethanol.
Collectors Spotted in the Volkswagen Apollo Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Volkswagen Apollo yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
2 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apollo 1.8 AP (AP 1800) ethanol (104 hp) | 1990–1992 | 1.8 L Inline-4 | 104 hp | 112 lb-ft | — | FWD | — | — |
| Apollo 1.8 AP (AP 1800) petrol (90 hp) | 1990–1992 | 1.8 L Inline-4 | 90 hp | 105 lb-ft | — | FWD | — | — |
Owning one
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Owners’ builds
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Rivals
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