Apollo GT - Um verdadeiro ítalo americano!

O Apollo GT é um esportivo de pequena série, que foi fabricado entre 1962 e 1965 pela International Motor Cars, em Oakland, California.

A carroceria era fabricada na Itália em alumínio pela Intermeccanica e tinha uma motorização V8 do Buick, com 3500cc ou 5000cc,

 Apollo was a United States-built sports car/personal automobile manufactured from 1962 to 1964 in Oakland, California.
Engineered by Milt Brown and 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 cu in (3.5 l) or 300 cu in (4.9 l) Buick^[2] engine to a 4-speed manual. The company, International Motor Cars, built 42 cars before suspending production while seeking new financing. IMC allowed the sale of body/chassis units to Vanguard Motors in Dallas, Texas to produce cars under the Vetta Ventura name and these were made until 1966 by Vanguard Inc of Dallas, Texas. This was a stop-gap measure to keep the carrozzeria (body producer) Intermeccanica in business until new backers were found.

History

Frank Reisner, a former chemical engineer born in Hungary, raised in Canada and educated in America,^[3] 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 Intermeccanica producing tuning kits for Renaults, Peugeots, and Simcas.
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 early 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 was shown in New York in 1965. It was shown again in 1966 as the Griffth GT.^[3]
International Motor Cars sold 42 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.^[4]
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.

Nas fotografias abaixo confiram as belas linhas do esportivo projetado por Ron Plescia e Franco Scaglione:

Motorização Buick V8 de 3500cc e 4900cc

1965 Apollo 5000 GT Coupe
Overview
Manufacturer	International Motor Cars
Production	90
Model years	1962 - 1965
Assembly	Oakland, California, United States
Designer	Ron Plescia & Franco Scaglione
Body and chassis
Class	Sports Car
Body style	fastback coupe or convertible
Related	Construzione Automobili Intermeccanica
Powertrain
Engine	215 cu in (3.5 L) Buick V8 (gasoline) 300 cu in (4.9 L) Buick V8 (gasoline)
Transmission	4 speed manual (automatic optional)
Dimensions
Wheelbase	2,464 mm (97.0 in)[1]
Length	4,445 mm (175.0 in)
Width	1,676 mm (66.0 in)
Height	1,270 mm (50.0 in)
Curb weight	1,030 kg (2,271 lb)
Chronology
Predecessor	Inter Meccanica Puch
Successor	Vetta Ventura and Griffith GT

Texto em inglês reprodução de Wikipedia.

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