1965 Apollo 5000 GT Coupé

heroldius(76)

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During the RM Sotheby's European Sale featuring the Petitjean Collection which ends today online, another discovery for me after my last post about the De Tomaso Mangusta (sold for € 187,000), with this 1965 Apollo 5000 GT Coupé. I didn't know the model but worse nor the American automaker, International Motor Cars behind this project.

Did you know this car Apollo with a coachwork by Intermeccanica ?

History of Apollo 5000 GT

Apollo was founded early 60's by three friends, Milt Brown the engineer, Ron Plescia the designer, and Ned Davis in Oakland (California). They wanted to build a reliable sport car with an European design able to compete against Aston Martin DB4 or Ferrari 250 GT. It seems to be the obsession of American sport car enthusiasts in those years to mix European body with American engine, we just have to think of Carroll Shelby. European styling with American muscle...

In 1961, during the Monaco Grand Prix, they met Frank Reisner, founder of Carrozzeria Intermeccanica, in order to build a finished boy for the new car. Frank Reisner was an International man, born in Hungary, raised in Canada and educated in US with a diploma in chemistry.

The first prototype design done by Rone Plescia had some flaws. So Milt Brown hired Franco Scaglione,designer from Bertone to revise it. In 1963, the first bodies built by Intermeccanica in Turin were sent to Oakland...

The car was sold for $ 9,000 under the price of the Ferraris but more expensive than a Jaguar E-Type. Only 88 Apollo GTs (3500 and 5000) were built before the company ran out of funding.

Specification

In Oakland, the Apollo 5000 GT received his American muscle with a Buick’s aluminium 5.0 litre V-8 engine mated to a 4 speed manual transmission.

Nicely restored earlier this year, the design is pretty cool, close of the E-Type and Ferrari 250. Just to compare and dream 😀 :

1965 Aston Martin DB5

1965 Ferrari 250 LM Berlinetta GT

So what do you think of this Apollo?
Interesting car...

Sale


Model :	1965 Apollo 5000 GT Coupé by Intermeccanica
Where :	RM Sotheby's European Sale
When :	11 June 2020
Estimate Price :	sold for €209,000