The Apollo GT
Apollo GT owners were also on hand at the Concorso, celebrating the 50th anniversary of International Motor Cars of Oakland, California.
Though based in the suburbs of San Francisco, the idea to form a company that would marry Italian design and craftsmanship with trustworthy GM mechanicals came to engineer Milt Brown while he was on the other side of the Atlantic, where he met Frank Reisner of Intermeccanica.
Brown had laid out the frame and chassis and Ron Plescia, a graduate of Art Center College of Design, was the car’s original designer. The design needed to be modified for production so Reisner commissioned Bertone’s Franco Scaglione to refine its lines.
The car’s steel bodies were built at Carrozzeria Intermeccanica in Turin, Italy, before being shipped to California where the drivetrain was installed.
Approximately two cars were produced per month and a total of 88 cars were assembled in Oakland from 1963 through 1965. Early cars were powered by a Buick-sourced 215 cubic-inch aluminum V8, while later models increased displacement to 300. The last few 1965 models were fitted with 327 steel engines from Chevrolet.
