APEX: The Story of the Hypercar

APEX: The Story of the Hypercar is a 2015 American documentary film that describes the automobile category of hypercars, and the showing of a mission to defeat the world record in the Nürburgring and Spa-Francorchamps in the Koenigsegg One:1, started by Christian von Koenigsegg (Koenigsegg's CEO and President). The documentary was released worldwide in November 18, 2015.

Synopsis

The entire synopsis of the documentary is about the hypercar and the quest to change the automotive industry with a new sports car from the company Koenigsegg, which is led by the CEO and President of the same name. Along the synopsis, the audience will also learn from a few of the largest automakers in the industry.^[1]

Plot

The film begins with Chris Harris, Mike Spinelli, Dan Neil, Travis Okulski, Dan Greenawalt, Alex Roy, Horacio Pagani, and Christian von Koenigsegg, all explaining their first experiences around a hypercar and their connections around them. Shots of a few vehicles such as the Ferrari LaFerrari and Porsche 918 Spyder are then taken to show examples of some hypercars. This section is later continued by a few of the characters giving an attempt to explain what a hypercar is, which is ended by the narrator Zachary Levi, who gives a description of McLaren, Ferrari, and Porsche's cars, and also explain how these cars give a physical iteration of a hypercar.

Along the documentary, the story follows Christian von Koenigsegg (owner and founder of the automotive company Koenigsegg) and how he went on to accomplish his quest to make the best sports car. von Koenigsegg recalls his history as a car enthusiast, and how he was inspired to create a sports car of his own. His wife Halldora also recounts her history, but as a Koenigsegg employee, and how they first built their first running prototype, the CC. von Koenigsegg's vehicle is revealed as the One:1, an Agera-based sports car that contains a 1:1 power-to-weight ratio that concentrates on racetrack driving which uses prepreg carbon fiber material and includes a race car-focused personality.

The film later focuses on three hypercars: the Bugatti Veyron, Porsche 918, and McLaren P1. In all three segments, the characters give their compliments about all three and how well made they are. After the segments, the Nürburgring is mentioned. This is also where von Koenigsegg had planned to test the One:1, and try to break the record with it. The One:1 makes its appearance for the Geneva Motor Show in time, and is also where Christian von Koenigsegg also takes a walk around the event, taking a look at the new automobiles, interacting with other people, and inspecting some artwork.

The film then focuses on five particular topics: the LaFerrari, the Huayra, Horacio Pagani, Koenigsegg's Nürburgring testing fault, and the death of a spectator in the Nürburgring. The Nürburgring events make the biggest impact of the five, due to their involvement in von Koenigsegg's path to a world record. The Nürburgring event of which a spectator's death took place had caused the lap time consideration for von Koenigsegg, which therefore forced them to lap somewhere else. However, this wouldn't work either due to having exceeded the decibel limit, therefore disqualifying the One:1 from any further attempts. Through research, however, calculations showed that Koenigsegg had the chance the break the record, but the margin wasn't near expectations.

The documentary also features a segment about Forza Motorsport and how video games are changing the next generation of car enthusiasts.

The documentary ends with a finalised description of what a hypercar is, and how companies today are pushing the limits of hypercar technology.

Cast

The cast includes 17 total characters, all acting as themselves. Nine of these are major characters, the other eight are minor characters who just appear in the background on camera.^[2]

Critical reception

APEX: The Story of the Hypercar has received an overall good response, with an average of 82.6 percent as of October 2017.

The documentary currently holds a 92% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a 7.4 out of 10 on IMDb, a five-star rating on iTunes, and a 4.3 out of 5 rating on Amazon.com.^[3][4][5][6] As for the critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes, no official rating has been released. The film has also received a four-star rating, a 4.8 out of 5, and a 84% rating from other various critics and websites.^[7][8][9]

Media	Country	Rating	Reviews
Amazon.com	US		7
CSFD	CZ	84%	15
Google Play	US		35
IMDb		7.4/10	926
iTunes			8
Letterboxd			128
MovieMeter	NL		14
Rotten Tomatoes	US	92% (audience)	46
The News Wheel			1

References