Apollo (1962 automobile)

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The Apollo was a well-engineered United States 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 in³ or 300 in³ Buick engine, ninety units were produced before it was renamed the Vetta Ventura and made until 1966 by Vanguard Inc of Dallas, Texas.

The top speed was claimed to be 150 mph (240 km/h).

[edit] History

Frank Reisner, a former chemical engineer raised in Canada and educated in America, built a production facility that later produced the Apollo and 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/Vetta Ventura 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 and then sent them to Oakland, California, where the drivetrain 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 International Motorcars of Oakland, was well received and had famous owners such as Tony Curtis and Pat Boone. Thirty-nine Apollos were built when production stopped in mid-1964. Reisner kept his options open by supplying the shell to a Texas company, which sold it as the Vetta Ventura. 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 really an Apollo 2+2), an Apollo 5000, the Phoenix, and the Omega among others. This car was featured in The Love Bug, a 1969 Disney movie. Most of this car's styling came from the famous Jaguar E-type.