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The 1964 Apollo GT was one in all numerous small-batch sports activities vehicles that shortly light into obscurity. However this newest episode of “Jay Leno’s Storage” supplies the complete story, with commentary from Kurt Brakhage, proprietor of the automotive proven within the video, and Robb Northrup, writer of the e book “Apollo GT: The American Ferrari.”
The Apollo GT was the brainchild of Milton Brown who, regardless of being solely in his early 20s, determined to begin a automotive firm. An investor initially urged that the corporate construct a commuter automotive, however after touring Italian automotive factories on his honeymoon, Brown declared that he would construct “the American Ferrari,” Northup explains within the video. Maybe that is why the Apollo GT has a robust resemblance to interval Ferraris.

1964 Apollo GT on Jay Leno’s Storage
Brown mixed a 225-hp aluminum 215-cubic inch Buick V-8 with coachbuilt bodywork, giving the Apollo GT European type with the benefit of upkeep of an American powertrain. It was much like the formulation used for the Shelby Cobra, and a few European-built vehicles just like the Monteverdi Excessive Velocity 375S and Bizzarrini 5300 GT.
Brown, who had an engineering diploma and labored briefly as a draftsmen and check driver for race automotive builder Emeryson, designed the body himself. He used some off-the-shelf components along with the engine, together with Buick finned drum brakes and a Borg-Warner 4-speed handbook transmission.
Our bodies have been inbuilt Italy by a convoluted enterprise association. Apollo contracted with Intermeccanica, which subcontracted the job to a coachbuilder, which in flip distributed the work to particular person craftspeople.
Two aluminum-bodied prototypes—one two-seater and one 2+2—have been constructed, adopted by a manufacturing run of 76 coupes and 11 convertibles. Pricing began at about $6,500 for the coupe and $7,400 for the convertible. These have been appreciable sums on the time, however not sufficient to make the Apollo GT worthwhile. That, mixed with Apollo’s lack of preliminary funding, meant the corporate did not final lengthy. About 55 vehicles are thought to outlive at present.
Meaning you are unlikely to see an Apollo GT on the street at present. So it is undoubtedly value watching the complete video to see this instance on the streets of Los Angeles, and listen to the Buick V-8 doing its greatest Ferrari V-12 impression.
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