1968 Intermeccanica Italia

The Intermeccanica Italia combined a European sports-car chassis with an American V-8 engine and was built between 1967 and 1973. Intermeccanica was established in 1959 by chemical engineer Frank Reisner and his wife, Paula. They traveled to Europe and settled in Torino, Italy, where they opened their company and initially manufactured aftermarket speed kits. Their first product was a Formula Junior open-wheeled racer powered by a Peugeot engine. This was followed by aluminum-bodied Intermeccanica-Puch 500 cc-engined cars with production reaching 21 units. The company's talents were then applied to a low-production, hand-built car called the Apollo, the dream of a young California engineer, Milt Brown.

Brown and Reisner met at the 1960 Monaco Grand Prix, and the forthcoming deal resulted in the first Apollos appearing by early 1963 by Brown's International Motor cars. The hand-formed steel bodies were the work of Intermeccanica in Turin, Italy, and then shipped by sea to Oakland, California, where the drive train was installed. Milt Brown's friend, Ron Plescia, had created by the prototype, and it was attractive, but its rear vision was limited and the nose was too long. So Reisner enlisted former Bertone stylist Franco Scaglione to revise and fine-tune the design. The finished car was sold by Brown's International Motorcars of Oakland with a base price of $6,000. A prototype 2+2 was later shown in New York in 1965, and again in 1966 as the Griffth GT. A total of 42 examples, including 40 coupes and one spyder - including the prototype, were built prior to production ending in mid-1964 due to lack of financing. A deal was struck between International Motor Cars and Reisner allowing Intermeccanica to supply body and chassis units to Fred Ricketts, owner of Vanguard Industries, to be sold as the Vetta Ventura. The idea was to allow IMC time to secure financing while the Intermeccanica product was kept alive. Vanguard was only able to buy and sell eleven examples. The shop foreman Tom Johnson acquired the leftover 11 body/chassis units and eventually completed them as late as 1971. The third and final attempt at building the Apollo was made by attorney Robert Stevens and his Apollo International company of Pasadena, California. A total of 14 examples were built, with foreman Otto Becker completing an additional six. Four of the chassis/bodies were left unclaimed by Apollo International and later sold by U.S. Customs to Ken Dumiere.

With a dream and a desire to build performance cars of their own, the Resiners began production of the Torino Spyder in 1967, following a series of names, ownership, and engineering changes within the company. The name created controversy, as Ford had a 'Torino' model at the time, prompting the Reisner's to change the name to Italia Spyder so as not to infringe upon the name of the primary engine supplier.

The Italia models wore a 'prancing bull' badge in honor of Torino's coat of arms, and the styling had vintage Ferrari undertones that were classically Italian, and its impressive performance was courtesy of proven Ford V-8 engines. The tubular steel chassis was clothed with hand-formed steel bodies, and fewer than 400 examples were built during its production lifespan, lasting from 1967 to 1973.

The styling was penned by former G.M. designer Bob Cumberford that was both fresh and modern, with clear influences to the Ferrari 400 SA and the 275 GTB. Further design input and refinement were provided by Franco Scaglione. Ford's latest small-block V8 engine, initially displacing 302 cubic-inches and later the 351 'Cleveland,' provided the power. The 302 CID V8 with a four-barrel carburetor delivered approximately 250 horsepower at 4,800 RPM. The 351 CID overhead valve V8 was rated at approximately 300 horsepower at 6,000 RPM. Transmission options included a four- and five-speed manual gearbox. The chassis engineering was performed by John Crosthwaite, using square tubular members welded to the Italia's hand-built steel body into a single unit. It was given independent front underpinnings, a Mustang live axle at the rear, supported by coil springs and radius rods, and a rack-and-pinion steering system. Hydraulic disc brakes were placed in the front and drums were at the rear. A number of examples received four-wheel disc brakes. The short and sporty chassis of 94 inches provided the performance of a sports car and the necessary interior space of a proper GT car.

The cars were imported to the United States early in 1968 and approximately 40 had been sold by March. The production remained limited, partly due to the staggering $8,500 price tag and the tedious hand-built engineering process. Some sources state that fewer than 400 examples were built, while others state that 470 were built, or between 500 and 600 were built.

The Italia models were one of the more successful Italian-American hybrid combinations in regards to styling, longevity, and production totals. Other notable attempts include the popular AC and DeTomasos, and the Isos, Monteverdi's, Ghia 450SS, Apollo, and the Griffith (to list a few). After the Italia project, Intermeccanica turned its attention to the Indra with financial backing from Opel, an Opel Diplomat suspension, and Chrysler V8 power. Intermeccanica later returned to Canada and resumed the business of producing Porsche replicas.

by Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2020