The Apollo GT was an Italian-American sports car, initially marketed from 1962 to 1964 by International Motor Cars in Oakland, California. Engineered by Milt Brown and designed by Ron Plescia, it featured handmade Italian bodywork and chassis by Intermeccanica, with a choice between two-seater convertible or fastback styles. Power came from a or Buick engine mated to a 4-speed manual. The initial company completed assembly of 42 cars before suspending production while seeking new financing. IMC allowed the sale of Intermeccanica body/chassis units to Vanguard Motors in Dallas, Texas, to produce cars under the Vetta Ventura name. These were made until 1966 as a stop-gap measure to keep body producer Intermeccanica in business until new backers were found. Other production arrangements followed, assembling cars not completed by International. A total of 88 have been produced to date by all entities. History Frank Reisner, a former chemical engineer born in Hungary, raised in Canada and educated in America, established a company that later produced complete bodies—painted and trimmed—for the Apollo as well as the Texas-built Vetta Ventura (which was the same car with a different name). 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 Brown's International Motor Cars. Intermeccanica hand formed and trimmed the bodies in Turin, Italy, and then shipped them by sea 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 prototypes featured all aluminum bodies, but the production versions were mainly steel with aluminum hoods and doors. 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