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1963 Apollo 3500 GT

The formula of European styling with American performance has been implemented on numerous occasions throughout the course of history, sometimes successfully, other times....not. Some attempts were financially successful while others succeeded in combining elegance and performance but failed in commercial feasibility. The latter was the case of the short-lived American automobile company named the Apollo which produced cars from 1962 to 1965.

An engineer named Milt Brown, a designer named Ron Plescia, and their friend Ned Davis combined their talents and resources to form the International Motor Cars. At the Monaco Grand Prix in 1961, Brown was introduced to Frank Reisner of Carrozzeria Intermeccanica of Torino, Italy. Reiser was a former chemical engineer who was born in Hungary but raised in Canada and educated in America. His Turin-based Intermeccanica Company produced tuning kits for Renaults, Peugeots, and Simcas. A deal between Brown and Reisner resulted in Intermeccanica creating hand-formed bodies in Turin and shipping them by sea to Oakland, California where International Motor Cars installed the drive train. Plescia had created the initial design which was fine-tuned by former Bertone stylist Franco Scaglione, particularly to the front section. The prototype examples were formed from aluminum while the production versions were mainly steel with aluminum doors and hoods.

The ladder frame had a 97-inch wheelbase, was 175 inches in length, 66 inches wide, and stood 50 inches tall. The suspension was from the Buick Special with the front control arms featuring bronze bushings with grease fittings. In the back was a sophisticated four-link trailing arm setup with coil springs on a live axle. Under the bonnet was Buick's lightweight aluminum V-8 engine displacing 215 cubic inches (3.5 liters) in the Apollo 3500 GT and 300 cubic inches (4.9 liters) in the Apollo 5000 GT. Transmission options included a Borg Warner T-10 four-speed manual or two-speed automatic.

International Motor Cars launched the new GT in Hollywood in March 1963. The demand was strong but like many young companies, they lacked the capital and cash flow demanded by a steady production line. The company would close its doors in the summer of 1964, having sold 42 cars, including 40 coupes and one spyder, plus the prototype. A new contract was formed with Reisner allowing Intermeccanica to supply body/chassis units to Fred Ricketts, owner of Vanguard Industries of Dallas, Texas. Under the Vanguard banner, it was sold as the Vetta Ventura. Eleven examples wore the Vanguard nameplate and an additional 11 body and chassis units were purchased by the shop foreman Tom Johnson before the project came to a close.

A third and final attempt to revive the Apollo formula was attempted by an attorney named Robert Stevens. His Apollo International Company of Pasadena, California completed fourteen cars, with foreman Otto Becker finishing another six.

Mr. Reisner's influence on the automotive arena was felt for many years, with projects such as the Griffith, the Murena GT, and the Italia by Intermeccanica.

by Dan Vaughan

Coupe
Chassis number: 1003

Chassis number 1003 was the first production Apollo built and was sold to John R. Niven from Atherton, California (by Milt Brown). This historically significant Apollo was most recently sold by Bob Northrup as a basket case to Steve Shook and George Finely. Restoration began in January 2013 with consultation from Milt Brown, by Steve Shook-Shook Enterprises, and Phil Wanzer-CC Old Car Museum; both of Corpus Christi, Texas.

Convertible
Chassis number: 2001

The Apollo 3500GT Spyder combined the craftsmanship of Intermeccanica with the power and reliability of an American drivetrain. Only 11 'spyder' versions were produced, penned by Franco Scaglione, and this Apollo was the prototype for the model - the only 3500GT constructed with an all-aluminum body and an aluminum block and heads. Upon its arrival in the U.S. in 1963, the car was dressed with numerous bespoke features in preparation for its unveiling at the San Francisco Auto Salon in the fall of 1963, followed by the 1964 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. The car's first owner was Dr. Gordon Hayden, a U.C. Berkeley professor, nuclear physicist and Apollo stockholder, who kept the car for 30 years until he passed away. In 1995, company founder Milt Brown showed the Apollo at Pebble Beach for a second time and earned Second in Class. Upon acquiring the vehicle in 2019, the current owners consulted with Milt Brown and Apollo historian Robb Northrup to return the car to its 'authentic as built' condition. Before the production of the entire run ceased at only 88 vehicles, the culminating accomplishment was the design and production of just a handful of 'spyder' version whose flowing lines were penned by Franco Scaglione, the same author of such futuristic designs as the Alfa Romeo 'BAT' cars and the Alfa 33 Stradale.

The Apollo 3500GT Spyder combined the craftsmanship of Intermeccanica with the power and reliability of an American drivetrain. Only eleven 'spyder' versions were produced, penned by Franco Scaglione, and this Apollo was the prototype for the model - the only 3500GT constructed with an all-aluminum body and an aluminum block and heads.

Upon its arrival in the United States in 1963, the car was dressed with numerous bespoke features in preparation for its unveiling at the San Francisco Auto Salon in the fall of 1963, followed by the 1964 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. The car's first owner was Dr. Gordon Hayden, a U.C. Berkeley professor, nuclear physicist and Apollo stockholder, who kept the car for 30 years until he passed away. In 1995, company founder Milt Brown showed the Apollo at Pebble Beach for a second time and earned Second in Class. Upon acquiring the vehicle in 2019, the current owners consulted with Milt Brown and Apollo historian Robb Northrup to return the car to its 'authentic as built' condition.

It is believed that five Spyders survive.

Recognized today as an 'American Milestone Car' and also a valuable collectible car, the Apollo has proven that 'success in the automotive world is not always measured by financial statements alone'. Bringing together an American engine and running gear, the Apollo GT featured Italian/American styling and a body that was built in Italy by a transplanted Canadian engineer/entrepreneur. The GT was the brain child of an Oakland, California engineer named Milt Brown in the early 1960s.

The Apollo GT debuted in 1962 and was produced until 1965. Though the Apollo Company was a dismal failure, the GT was a sensational success and the automotive press couldn't stop talking about it. The Apollo Company had a very brief and uneventful sales history but the Apollo GT coupe was applauded by Hot Rod, Road & Track, and Car and Driver as a 'consummate sports car', mainly for its styling and craftsmanship. Especially near the front end of the Apollo, its styling was greatly influenced by Ferrari, along with the interior and upholstery being hand-sewn leather.

Road & Track applauded the Apollo in November of 1963 and praised its comfortable space even for taller passengers. Hot Rod also praised the workmanship of the Apollo in 1964, believing it to be of the highest quality. The interior was considered to be comparable to cars costing twice that of the Apollo. Science and Mechanics magazine gave the Apollo high praise and said it was 'comparable to the Ferrari 2+2, Aston Martin DB-4, and the Corvette Sting Ray. The Apollo was considered to be the 'right car at the right time', lacking only two 'all-essential ingredients', money, and marketing.

Despite the financial failure of American sports cars like the Nash-Healey and the Cunningham, Milt Brown was confident that he could produce a world-class, home-grown GT. After a chance meeting during his honeymoon with a Canadian named Frank Reisner at the 1960 Monaco Grand Prix, Brown's vision moved even closer to fruition. Brown learned that Reisner built car bodies in Italy. Reisner was born in Hungary in 1932, but grew up in Canada and graduated in chemical engineering from the University of Michigan. A paint company job put him in contact with the automobile industry and he soon discovered a desire to build his own car.

In 1958 during a vacation trip to Europe with his wife, Reisner recognized that Italy had a deep infrastructure of skilled artisans and stylists as well as a ready supply of skilled fabricators and bodymen and this would be the perfect place to achieve his dream. Reisner and his wife Paula remained in Italy and formed a specialty car company called Carrozzeria Intermeccanica which was based in Turin. Originally the company developed hop-up kits for a small vehicles, but eventually, it was constructing whole vehicles using readily available chassis' and engines. Brown and Reisner struck a deal and Brown set to work on a design for his new car. His wife suggested that the car should be named Apollo for the Green god of the and a new Company, International Motor Cars was set up in Oakland, California, to build and develop the new sports model.

At the same time that Milt Brown's vision was evolving, Buick unveiled its 1961 Special 'senior compact' model. The components in the Special intrigued Brown, especially the aluminum 3.5-liter GM V8 engine with 190 hp which only weighed around 300lbs without flywheel or clutch. Brown wanted his invention to be as lightweight as possible. Based on parts from the Buick Special, Brown designed a simple steel ladder frame. Brown also used the Buick's steering and its front and rear coil spring suspension, including its solid rear axle.

The transmission for Brown's visionary car was either a three or four-speed manual transmission or a two-speed automatic. All of the components were tied together by a Brown-designed, square-tube, ladder-type frame on a 2,489 mm wheelbase. The brakes in the Apollo were Bendix power discs upfront with Chevy drums in the back. Boranni wire wheels were an exotic option, while Dunlop wire wheels with knock-off hubs were standard.

The body of the Apollo was styled by Ron Plescia, a childhood friend of Brown's and graduate of the prestigious Art Center Scholl of Design in Los Angeles. Plescia took on the Apollo project in his spare time and ended up with an attractive coupe with similar proportions to the new Jaguar XKE. The body drawings and chassis were then sent to Reisner, who built an aluminum-bodied prototype and quickly shipped it back for further study. The funding for this project was provided by Newton Davis, another one of Brown's friends. The design by Plescia was influenced greatly by the recently introduced Jaguar E-Type and several Ferrari models.

The Apollo coupe was a sleek, long-hood, short-deck fastback with a very innovative lack of rear quarter windows. Brown contracted with Intermeccanica to construct bodies for the Apollo. Reisner chose to use steel bodies rather than aluminum which would be lighter. Reisner had Italian stylist Franco Scaglione review the design before Intermeccanica began forming the bodies over wooden frames, called bucks. Scaglione had a few minor improvements, which included adding rear quarter windows and enlarging the rear window. The finished and painted bodies were mounted on the chassis by Intermeccanica as well as having the interior was trimmed before they were shipped to California. In California Davis's International Motor Cars Cars, Inc fitted the powertrain, suspension and other components. In 1962 the first car was completed.

Things seemed to be going very well for Davis until this point. Since it had such a high Buick content, Davis had hoped to sell the Apollo through Buick dealers, but GM objected and the young company was left with no distribution network. Thankfully this was eventually overcome, but since Brown had priced the cars below cost, he soon faced bankruptcy. Vanguard Motors Corp. a Texas company aided Davis by marketing the cars under the name Vetta Ventura. Unfortunately, this failed after a few short months and only 19 Vetta Venturas. The operation returned to California.

Apollo International, the new company produced a total of 14 more Apollos, nearly all of them convertibles, before throwing in the towel and giving up in 1965. When production ended, a total of 88 Apollos, which included 11 convertibles, was the total tally for the Apollo Company. A shame really, as Apollo seemed to be a very good car, with the Intermeccanica bodies well built, but, like so many others, it failed due to inadequate pricing.

The Apollo GT was tested by Road and Track magazine and found to be 'quiet, comfortable, and well-finished ', an 'appealing automobile' put together well. The GT could achieve 0 to 60 mph in just 8.4 seconds and had a top speed of 140mph. The Apollo GT is considered by some as one of the finest and most striking GT cars of the 1960s. The Apollo was upholstered in leather and was equipped with Borrani wire wheels. The Apollo 2+2 prototype followed soon after was judged 'best of show' at the New York Auto Show.

by Jessican Donaldson