A 1963 Apollo 3500 GT will go on sale on January 26 with the price expectations within the $150,000–200,000 range. Built by International Motor Car and nicknamed ‘the American Ferrari’, it is one out of only 41 such vehicles made by Carrozzeria Inermeccanica.
Engineer Milt Brown founded the Apollo brand because he hoped to design a “native U.S.” grand tourer vehicle to compete with the likes of Aston Martin, Ferrari and Jaguar. A friend of his came up with the exterior styling, and the Italian coachbuilder mentioned above handled the bodywork design and production prepping.
The original coupe (see video) borrowed its stainless-steel frame and suspension from the 1961 Buick Special. The same car donated its 3.5-liter V8 mated to a Borg Warner four-speed transmission. Milt Brown boosted the engine to 230 horsepower.
The buyers praised the coupe for its handling, interior trim quality, reliability and ease of maintenance compared to the European rivals. However, the modest investment amount precluded production, forcing Brown to sell the technologies to another company. That company ramped up the total production quantity to 88 units.
The example on sale was the second GT produced. Unlike some of the more recently made cars, it received a part-aluminum body (the manufacturer stopped using aluminum after a handful of produced units). The seller claims it is fully authentic and in excellent condition, although the latest restoration was a while ago.