Vehicle Description
In 1962, a young engineer from California named Milt Brown had the
idea of building a world-class sports car with a svelte Italian
body, powered by reliable and affordable American V8 power. He even
dreamed that with Buick engines, he could sell his car through GM
dealers. Brown found backing for his idea and was shopping around
for a coachbuilder to help realize his dream, when he met Frank
Reisner of Carrozzeria Intermeccanica of Turin. A design was drawn
up by Ron Plescia, and a deal was struck for Reisner's fledgling
coachbuilding firm to construct the chassis and body and ship it
finished and trimmed to Oakland, California for drivetrain
installation. Before production began, the styling was reworked by
Reisner's friend, the famed designer Franco Scaglione, lending
serious credibility to the project. Early cars were powered by the
advanced, light alloy 3.5 liter Buick V8. Later cars got more grunt
in the form of the Skylark's 300 cubic inch (4.9 liter) V8.
Financial woes struck soon, and a deal was made for a Texas company
to build the cars under the name Vetta Ventura until IMC could get
its finances in order, as well as to keep Intermeccanica in
operation. All told, just 90 examples were built between 1960 and
1965. Thankfully, Frank Reisner persevered to carry on with his
next project, the Italia in 1966. But the Apollo lives on as one of
the few Italian-American hybrids that could take on the likes of
Ferrari, Aston Martin and Jaguar in terms of performance and style.
An Apollo 3500 GT even famously took on the likes of Herbie the
Love Bug, as the Thorndyke Special. The appeal of the Apollo has
always been that it is a genuine, coachbuilt Italian GT car with
sublime looks and the performance to back it up. It has even been
declared an "American Milestone Car", a designation used to
recognize important post-war designs in the same spirit as the CCCA
Full Classic list. This 1963 Apollo 5000 GT coupe comes to us from
long-term ownership in a private collection. It is a rare and
desirable 4.9-liter Skylark-powered example (vs the 215-powered
3500 GT), and is equipped with a four speed Borg-Warner T-10
transmission. Extensive records show the previous owner, a
passionate enthusiast, was searching Hemmings motor news in the
early 1980s for one of his favorite cars - an Avanti. While
perusing the "A" section of the magazine, he stumbled across this
Apollo and immediately fell in love with the Scaglione design. He
struck a deal with the seller and the car remained a prized part of
his collection of important cars from 1984 through 2017. A
sympathetic restoration and bare-metal respray was performed in
2006 and the car has been shown on numerous occasions as well as
enjoyed on the road. The Apollo remains in very good condition
today, with beautiful red paintwork on an excellent, straight body.
The classic Italian red is very well suited to the svelte fastback
body style. The design is elegant and understated, with brightwork
limited to window surrounds and delicately styled chrome bumpers,
all of which appear in very good condition. It rides on a set of
proper Borrani knock-off wire wheels with crossply tires as
correct, imparting a low, wide stance on the road. Black upholstery
on the bucket seats presents in very good order, showing minimal
wear. The seats feature a grippy fabric insert with black
leatherette sides and backs. Black carpets are period appropriate
loop type, again in very good condition and appearing to be in
original. The interior is basic and businesslike, with an appealing
sense of purpose in the clear, sensibly arranged dials in the black
dash. The original Nardi wheel remains in place and still has its
Apollo horn button. This example is also equipped with a 4-speed
manual transmission for the ultimate sporting experience. Lifting
the forward-hinged hood reveals a very well detailed 300 cubic inch
Buick V8 shared with the Skylark. In the light and agile Apollo
chassis, the 250 horsepower Buick engine truly comes alive. Casting
marks indicate it is a period correct engine for this car, and it
is properly detailed with correct chrome valve covers, correct air
cleaner and period correct fittings, clamps and hardware. The
engine runs strong and sounds very healthy, breathing through dual
Ansa exhausts. The tubular chassis remains in very good order and
appears sound and solid throughout. When resprayed in 2006, great
care was taken to keep as much of the car original as possible. A
comprehensive history file includes correspondence with from the
previous owner, receipts and photos from the restoration, parts
sources and other enthusiast information about the history of
Apollo cars. The car has been shown at the Greenwich Concours
d'Elegance and it remains in very lovely thoroughly usable
condition. Most people who dreamed of building their own exotic GT
car never even saw their projects come to fruition. The Apollo GT
enjoyed relative success, despite struggles faced by Intermeccanica
and Milt Brown, their perseverance and their brilliant car
nevertheless has made an impact on thousands of petrolheads through
history. But with only 90 examples built between 1962 and 1965,
only a lucky few have the opportunity to experience the style,
performance and quality of the Apollo 5000 GT first hand.
