Franco Scaglione

Brown called on his childhood friend Plescia to style the new endeavor. Plescia had since graduated from Art Center in California, the most prestigious school for aspiring stylists, and was employed by a design firm. He took on the Apollo project in his spare time, arriving at an attractive coupe with similar proportions to the new Jaguar XKE. The chassis and body drawings were sent to Reisner, who built an aluminum-bodied prototype and quickly shipped it back for further study.

Gearing UpLike all first efforts, there were loose ends that needed to be tied up. Visibility was limited by thick, rear quarter panels, and the body looked too large for the chassis. The nose had a divided grille opening that was too busy, and there were a number of minor ergonomic problems to overcome. Brown, Plescia, and Davis began raising money from friends and local banks, and soon had enough in hand to build a much-improved second car.

Reisner went to work on his end, arranging to have the chassis built in Italy and hiring famed stylist Franco Scaglione (Lamborghini 350GTV, Arnolt-Bristol, Alfa BAT series) to clean up the design and ready it for production. The body material was switched to steel and overall length reduced by 8 inches. New rear quarter windows and a larger rear window greatly improved visibility, and a single-piece egg-crate grille gave the front a decidedly Italian attitude. Inside, the finish was rich and traditional, with luxurious leather bucket seats and a sculpted dashboard filled with custom Jaegar instruments. The interior was roomy and comfortable, with an adjustable wood-rim steering wheel.

The new model was introduced in 1963 as the Apollo 3500GT. With a 97-inch wheelbase and a weight of 2,485 lbs, it was about the same size as a Corvette Sting Ray but considerably lighter. The little Buick V-8 was now pumping out 200 hp (thanks to an increase in compression) and wore a single four-barrel carburetor. With a 3.36:1 final drive ratio, the Apollo GT ran the quarter-mile in 16 seconds flat and accelerated from zero to 60 in 8.4 seconds. This was impressive but not spectacular, being a little slower than a Jaguar XKE and on par with a Sunbeam Tiger. Roadholding was very good considering the pedestrian origins of the suspension and steering, but the Apollo was intended as a comfortable high-speed touring car, not a primitive road rocket.

After building 15 cars, the aluminum Buick was switched to a 250hp, cast-iron, 5L Buick V-8. This was in response to calls for more power and persistent production problems with the aluminum engine. The revised model was named the Apollo 5000GT. A convertible was also introduced, which was as lovely as any Ferrari of the period. The price for the coupe was set at $7,105 with air conditioning, sunroof, and an optional automatic transmission. The body and chassis units were built by Reisner in Turin and shipped to International Motor Cars for engine installation. The first big break was when a California Buick dealership ordered 50 cars. Things were looking up!

Dark TimesThen the storm hit. Sinister Buick corporate types discovered the dealer was re-badging Apollos as Buicks before selling them. This came to a screeching halt and Apollo lost their biggest customer. A succession of "angels" promised, but ultimately failed to deliver the funding needed to increase production to the point of profitability. Thinking they needed a roomier model, Reisner developed a 2+2 model that never got beyond the prototype stage. Although the standard engine was the 5L Buick, some late Apollos received 327 Chevy engines (Brown says Apollo intended to switch to the Chevy). Some were sold without engines, and one of these was fitted with a Ford 289 by its owner. The money problems wouldn't go away and everything ground to a halt in the summer of 1964. Four coupes were sold in kit form to raise capital.