Apollo GT

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Apollo
Apollo 5000 GT Coupe
Apollo 5000 GT Coupe
Apollo GT
Production period: 1962-1968
Class : Sports car
Body versions : Coupé , convertible
Engines:
Petrol engines : 3.5–4.7 liters
(143–173 kW)
Length: 4521 mm
Width: 1676 mm
Height: 1270 mm
Wheelbase : 2489 mm
Empty weight : 1240 kg
successor Intermeccanica Italia

The Apollo GT was a sports car partly manufactured in Italy, which combined European design with American high-volume technology and was primarily sold on the American market in the 1960s . The manufacturer was Apollo International Corporation . The vehicles were sold one after the other under a number of different names without any major technical changes. The Apollo GT is the forerunner of Intermeccanica Italia , which is also successful in Europe .

The development of the Apollo

The initiative for the project goes back to the American engineer and designer Milt Brown, who had been concerned with the idea of ​​designing his own sports car since the late 1950s. Brown got in touch with the Frank Reisner in Italian Turin operated company Costruzione Automobili Intermeccanica on that would build the bodies.

In 1960, Brown first designed a simple ladder frame that was equipped with the drive technology of the Buick Special , which had just been presented . The highly acclaimed Special with its modern design provided the rear axle, the suspensions and, above all, the engine: a compact, 3.5-liter eight-cylinder V-engine that weighed only 160 kilograms with an aluminum engine block, less than all other American engines this time, which had a beneficial effect on the handling of the sports car. Other technical components also came from General Motors : the steering, for example, was taken from the Chevrolet Corvette , and the brakes from the Chevrolet Corvair . Other companies that took over the project in later years made some changes to the drive technology.

The body shape of the Apollo was essentially developed by Ron Plesca, a friend of Brown's. Plesca was inspired by various European sports cars, including the Ferrari 250 GT Spyder California and the Jaguar E-Type . Plesca designed a hatchback coupé with a very long bonnet and a fully clad B-pillar; So behind the doors the car had no side windows. At least one prototype was created based on this design, which was built in Italy by the Carrozzeria Sargiotto . Plesca's design was revised in late 1962 by Franco Scaglione , who changed the grille and added rear side windows. Soon after, the roof line was changed; the coupe received a tightly cut notchback. This version ultimately went into larger series production. In addition to the coupé, a two-seater convertible was also created from 1963, designed by Franco Scaglione.

The production process was spatially divided. The bodyshells were initially manufactured by Sargiotto , later by Grosso e Veci and in individual cases also by Cellino . In many cases - but not always - the Turin-based specialist company Carbondio was responsible for completing the project . The engine and transmission were finally installed in the USA.

The vehicles

The Apollo was a design that was sold from 1962 to 1968 by different companies with different names. After Milt Brown's first approach failed, a number of other American manufacturers tried their hand at the project. The only constant was the Italian bodywork supplier Intermeccanica, which with some probability has been the driving force behind the project in recent years. According to the description in American literature, it was Intermeccanica owner Frank Reisner who was always looking for new companies that could complete and sell his bodies in America. After several attempts had failed, Intermeccanica ultimately took over the production and sales itself.

International Motorcars

Beginning in the fall of 1962, Milt Brown initially marketed his coupé and convertible through his own company. The company was called International Motorcars Inc. and was based in Oakland , California . The bodies supplied by Intermeccanica were also completed here. According to individual sources, Jack Griffith was already involved in the project at this stage, and in 1966 he was to try to bring the car to the market under his own responsibility as Griffith G. Sales got off to a good start, but in 1964 the company had economic problems. Milt Brown later attributed this to insufficient funding, which prevented him from serving the high demand. According to Brown's account, he commissioned Intermeccanica to manufacture up to 15 car bodies per month from 1964 onwards, but did not have sufficient capital to finance the production costs in advance.

In the spring of 1965, Brown tried to keep the business going through new business partners. He found this in the Texan company Vanguard, which provided enough money to complete 15 vehicles that had already been ordered. These cars were sold as the Vetta Ventura. Shortly thereafter, Vanguard went bankrupt. This put an end to Milt Brown's Apollo project.

Vanguard Motors

A handful of Apollos manufactured after the entry of Vanguard Motors Corporation were sold under the name Vetta Ventura . The bodies continued to be built at Intermeccania, while the cars were completed in Dallas (Texas) . There is different information about the scope of production. What is certain is that the Vetta Ventura was manufactured and sold in 1965; other sources speak of a sale in 1964–1966. The information about the production figures vary depending on the source; in any case, however, they remain in the very low double-digit range.

Apollo International

After the end of the Vetta Ventura, the rights to the car were sold to Robert Stevens, a California attorney, who continued production of the car with a start-up company called Apollo International in Pasadena , California. Only individual vehicles were built here; one source speaks of five copies.

Griffith GT
Rear view of the Griffith GT

Griffith Motors

In 1966, Griffith Motors from Plainview, New York , took over the production rights to the Apollo GT. The company had initially fitted some British TVR models with American engines and had to look for an alternative after TVR stopped supplying bodies. In a departure from Milt Brown's original concept, Griffith Motors used eight-cylinder Plymouth cylinders . The prototype received a 6.4 liter (383 cui) engine; the production cars, on the other hand , were powered by an engine from the Plymouth Barracuda with a displacement of 4.6 liters (273 cui) that delivered 235 SAE horsepower. The engine was connected to a TorqueFlite automatic transmission as standard ; a manual five-speed gearbox was available as an option. The car called the Griffith GT was offered in the summer of 1966 for $ 6,095; it was nearly $ 1,000 cheaper than the Vetta Ventura. The Griffith GT was only produced in individual copies. Jack Griffith, the owner of Griffith Motors, had built a new plant for the GT, but was in financial distress due to the investments made and had to give up the project early.

Suspensions International

After Griffith Motors failed in 1966 to start series production of Brown's sports cars, the Manhassat, New York- based company Suspensions International took over the production rights. Suspensions International continued to source the bodyshells from Intermeccanica, but left the completion of the car in the factory of the Holman & Moody racing team in Charlotte , North Carolina . There were few changes visually and technically; however, a 4.7 liter eight-cylinder Ford was now used. The car was named Omega GT and sold for $ 8,900, almost twice as expensive as a Chevrolet Corvette . Production of the Omega GT was maintained until 1968.

Intermeccanica

Suspensions International's involvement ended in the second half of 1968. From that point on, Intermeccanica in Turin was responsible for the complete production of the vehicle. The cars were sold under the names Intermeccanica Torino and Italia until 1970 .

The production data

The production figures for the different versions of the Apollo varied depending on the source. The following overview takes over the data that the Intermeccanica Enthusiasts Club names for the individual models:

Manufacturer Model name drive Period number of pieces
International Motors Apollo GT Buick , 3.5 liter V8 1962-1965 90 coupes, 11 convertibles
Vanguard Vetta Ventura Buick , 3.5 liter V8 1965-1966 15/19
Apollo International Apollo GT Buick , 3.5 liter V8 1965 5 (?)
Griffith Motors Griffith GT Plymouth , 4.6 liter V8 1966 14th
Suspensions International Omega GT Ford , 4.7 liter V8 1966-1968 33/36
Intermeccanica Torino, Italia Ford , 4.7 liter V8 1968-1970 508

literature

  • Richard M. Langworth: Encyclopedia of American Cars 1930-1980 , New York 1984, ISBN 0-517-42462-2
  • Bella Italia: Fahrbericht Intermeccanica Italia , in: Motor Klassik 7/1998, p. 36 ff.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Alessandro Sannia: Enciclopedia dei carrozzieri italiani , Aesthetica 2017, ISBN 978-88-96796-41-2 , p. 492.
  2. ^ Andrew McCredie, Paula Reisner: Intermeccanica: The Story of the Prancing Bull, Veloce Publishing Ltd, 2010, ISBN 9781845842499 , p. 166 f.
  3. ↑ Alessandro Sannia: Enciclopedia dei carrozzieri italiani, Società Editrice Il Cammello, 2017, ISBN 978-8896796412 , pp. 161 and 176.
  4. ^ Andrew McCredie, Paula Reisner: Intermeccanica: The Story of the Prancing Bull, Veloce Publishing Ltd, 2010, ISBN 9781845842499 , p. 47.