Apollo (1962 automobile)
Encyclopedia
The Apollo was a United States
-built sports car
/personal automobile
manufactured from 1962 to 1964 in Oakland, California.
Engineered by Milt Brown with designed by Ron Plescia it featured Italian handmade aluminum bodywork with a choice between two-seater convertible
or fastback
styles. Power came from a 215 cid or 300 cid Buick
engine to a 3 or 4-speed manual. Ninety units were produced before it was renamed the Vetta Ventura and made until 1966 by Vanguard Inc of Dallas, Texas
.
producing tuning kits for Renault
s, Peugeot
s, and Simca
s.
The Apollo project was the dream of a young California engineer, Milt Brown, who desired to build an American answer to European GTs, such as the Aston Martin
DB4 and Ferrari
coupes. Brown, who was looking for a coachbuilder, met Reisner at the Monaco Grand Prix
in 1960. A deal was made and the first Apollos were built by late 1963 by Intermeccanica
. Intermeccanica made and trimmed the steel bodies in Turin, Italy
and then sent them to Oakland, California
, where the drive train was installed. The prototype's design was by Milt Brown's friend, Ron Plescia, but the nose was too long and the rear vision limited, so Reisner commissioned former Bertone stylist Franco Scaglione
to revise it.
The finished car, sold by Brown's International Motorcars of Oakland, was well received and had famous owners such as Pat Boone
. The base price was $6000 and the top speed was claimed to be 150 mph (240 km/h).
A prototype 2 + 2 with a Chrysler engine was shown in New York in 1965. It was shown again in 1966 as the Griffth GT.
International Motor Cars sold 41 cars (40 coupes and one spyder, including the prototype) before production stopped in mid-1964 due to lack of financing. IMC then made a contract with Reisner (to keep his operation going) allowing Intermeccanica to supply body/chassis units to Fred Ricketts, owner of Vanguard Industries, an aftermarket supplier of auto air conditioners in Dallas, Texas. Vanguard sold it as the Vetta Ventura. The intent was to give IMC time to find new financing as well as keep Intermeccanica alive.
Vanguard built only 11 cars, with shop foreman Tom Johnson purchasing the leftover 11 body/chassis units and completing them as late as 1971.
A third attempt to produce the Apollo was by attorney Robert Stevens. His Apollo International company of Pasadena, California completed only 14 cars, with foreman Otto Becker finishing another six. Four body chassis/units were never claimed by Apollo International and were sold by US Customs to Ken Dumiere.
The Apollo was featured in The Love Bug
, a 1969 Disney movie.
Reisner later developed projects such as the Griffith, the Murena GT, and the Italia by Intermeccanica. Intermeccanica went on to produce the Veltro 1500, the Griffin (which was a version of the prototype Apollo 2+2), the Phoenix, and the Omega among others.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-built sports car
Sports car
A sports car is a small, usually two seat, two door automobile designed for high speed driving and maneuverability....
/personal automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
manufactured from 1962 to 1964 in Oakland, California.
Engineered by Milt Brown with designed by Ron Plescia it featured Italian handmade aluminum bodywork with a choice between two-seater convertible
Convertible
A convertible is a type of automobile in which the roof can retract and fold away having windows which wind-down inside the doors, converting it from an enclosed to an open-air vehicle...
or fastback
Fastback
A fastback is a car body style whose roofline slopes continuously down at the back. The word can also designate the car itself. The style is seen on two-door coupés as well as four-door sedans.-History:...
styles. Power came from a 215 cid or 300 cid Buick
Buick V8 engine
Like its sister General Motors divisions, Buick produced its own family of V8 engines to replace its straight-8 engines. These engines came in many of the same displacements as those from other divisions, but were entirely different.-Buick "Nailhead V8":...
engine to a 3 or 4-speed manual. Ninety units were produced before it was renamed the Vetta Ventura and made until 1966 by Vanguard Inc of Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
.
History
Frank Reisner, a former chemical engineer born in Hungary, raised in Canada and educated in America, established a company that later produced the Apollo (and the Texas-built Vetta Ventura). Reisner, on holiday in Italy in 1959, decided that he loved Turin and set up shop there as IntermeccanicaIntermeccanica
Construzione Automobili Intermeccanica is an automobile manufacturer, founded by Frank Reisner initially based in Italy but subsequently moving to Canada. It is currently headed by Frank's son, Henry Reisner.-Founding:...
producing tuning kits for Renault
Renault
Renault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
s, Peugeot
Peugeot
Peugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second largest carmaker based in Europe.The family business that precedes the current Peugeot company was founded in 1810, and manufactured coffee mills and bicycles. On 20 November 1858, Emile Peugeot applied for the lion...
s, and Simca
Simca
Simca was a French automaker, founded in November 1934 by Fiat. It was directed from July 1935 to May 1963 by the Italian Henri Théodore Pigozzi...
s.
The Apollo project was the dream of a young California engineer, Milt Brown, who desired to build an American answer to European GTs, such as the Aston Martin
Aston Martin
Aston Martin Lagonda Limited is a British manufacturer of luxury sports cars, based in Gaydon, Warwickshire. The company name is derived from the name of one of the company's founders, Lionel Martin, and from the Aston Hill speed hillclimb near Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire...
DB4 and Ferrari
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...
coupes. Brown, who was looking for a coachbuilder, met Reisner at the Monaco Grand Prix
Monaco Grand Prix
The Monaco Grand Prix is a Formula One race held each year on the Circuit de Monaco. Run since 1929, it is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigious automobile races in the world, alongside the Daytona 500, Indianapolis 500, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans...
in 1960. A deal was made and the first Apollos were built by late 1963 by Intermeccanica
Intermeccanica
Construzione Automobili Intermeccanica is an automobile manufacturer, founded by Frank Reisner initially based in Italy but subsequently moving to Canada. It is currently headed by Frank's son, Henry Reisner.-Founding:...
. Intermeccanica made and trimmed the steel bodies in Turin, Italy
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
and then sent them to Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
, where the drive train was installed. The prototype's design was by Milt Brown's friend, Ron Plescia, but the nose was too long and the rear vision limited, so Reisner commissioned former Bertone stylist Franco Scaglione
Franco Scaglione
Franco Scaglione was an automobile coachwork designer.-Biography:Franco Scaglione was born in Florence to Vittorio Scaglione, a chief army doctor, and to Giovanna Fabbri, captain of the Italian Red Cross service. His was a well-to-do family of noble ancestry...
to revise it.
The finished car, sold by Brown's International Motorcars of Oakland, was well received and had famous owners such as Pat Boone
Pat Boone
Charles Eugene "Pat" Boone is an American singer, actor and writer who has been a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He covered black artists' songs and sold more copies than his black counterparts...
. The base price was $6000 and the top speed was claimed to be 150 mph (240 km/h).
A prototype 2 + 2 with a Chrysler engine was shown in New York in 1965. It was shown again in 1966 as the Griffth GT.
International Motor Cars sold 41 cars (40 coupes and one spyder, including the prototype) before production stopped in mid-1964 due to lack of financing. IMC then made a contract with Reisner (to keep his operation going) allowing Intermeccanica to supply body/chassis units to Fred Ricketts, owner of Vanguard Industries, an aftermarket supplier of auto air conditioners in Dallas, Texas. Vanguard sold it as the Vetta Ventura. The intent was to give IMC time to find new financing as well as keep Intermeccanica alive.
Vanguard built only 11 cars, with shop foreman Tom Johnson purchasing the leftover 11 body/chassis units and completing them as late as 1971.
A third attempt to produce the Apollo was by attorney Robert Stevens. His Apollo International company of Pasadena, California completed only 14 cars, with foreman Otto Becker finishing another six. Four body chassis/units were never claimed by Apollo International and were sold by US Customs to Ken Dumiere.
The Apollo was featured in The Love Bug
The Love Bug
The Love Bug is the first in a series of comedy films made by Walt Disney Productions that starred an anthropomorphic pearl-white, fabric-sunroofed 1963 Volkswagen racing Beetle named Herbie...
, a 1969 Disney movie.
Reisner later developed projects such as the Griffith, the Murena GT, and the Italia by Intermeccanica. Intermeccanica went on to produce the Veltro 1500, the Griffin (which was a version of the prototype Apollo 2+2), the Phoenix, and the Omega among others.
Info
| Engine | Max power | Transmission | Wheelbase | Length | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 350CID Buick V8 | 225 hp | 3-speed | 97 in (2,464 mm) | 177 in (4,496 mm) | 2540 lb (1,152.1 kg) |