Intermeccanica Apollo GT

By Richardd Adams

“The Apollo handles as well or better than, a 2+2 Ferrari, an Aston Martin DB4, or a Sting Ray Corvette” - Sports and Mechanics magazine 1963.

"Our experience in the Apollo has been both brief and pleasant. The car is quite comfortable (even for extra tall occupants) and well finished. In general, the Apollo is a very appealing automobile” - In November 1963 Road & Track.

"Workmanship is of the highest quality -- panels fit well, doors close with authority and the interiors are comparable to cars costing twice that of the Apollo" Hot Rod Magazine July 1964. 

If you Google the word "Apollo", the results will highlight the spaceship, not the 1962-1965 Apollo GT with an Italian body and an American V8 heartbeat. 
The Apollo GT had a low weight of 2,540 lb (1,150 kg), with excellent handling, a 0-60mph time of 8 seconds and a top speed up to 150 mph, this all added to its appeal.

Back in the early 1960s, Milt Brown, an enthusiastic Northern Californian, armed with an eye for design and an inborn mechanical ability, set about building an American equivalent to Ferrari, Aston-Martin, and Maserati -- a true Gran Turismo. 

Outside of Brown with his 1962-1965 Apollo GT, very few individuals have ever succeeded in designing and producing their own car. Many have tried and most have failed. The stories of such indomitable personalities as Preston Tucker, Malcolm Bricklin, and John DeLorean are just a part of a recurring cycle.

As an engineer, Brown designed the platform that would improve on the performance and handling problems of his predecessors' cars. The prototype's design was by Milt Brown's friend, Ron Plescia but completed by former Bertone stylist Franco Scaglione. Both inspired by the new E-Type Jaguar and Ferrari 250. That’s what’s so good about it, you can see ten of the classic icons in the design, yet it isn’t any of them.

The Apollo is today recognized as a collector's car.

Brown found all the driveline and suspension mechanical components he needed from the GM (Buick & Chevy) parts bin and he had these fitted to his own ladder-type chassis. The GT was designed for Buick's all-new 215-cubic-inch V-8, an engine that would deliver the power necessary for a sports car, yet be compact and light enough (just 318 pounds) to allow the handling characteristics he sought. Brown knew that a lighter-weight engine would produce a more agile car and it did.

The bodies and interiors were produced in Turin, Italy by Carrozzeria Intermeccanica, Each Apollo body was hand-formed in sections over wooden bucks and then welded together. The completed bodies were mounted to the frame, painted, the interior upholstered, and then shipped to Oakland, California, to be mated with the driveline and suspension. A Buick 215 cubic inch, then later a 300 cubic inch V-8 with T-10 4-speed from a Buick Special handled the power, although some bodies were sold off without any engines, these to be fitted by the new owners. The interior also took its look from the Ferrari, and upholstery was hand-sewn leather.  

In all, a total of 88 cars were produced -- 76 coupes, 11 convertibles, and the prototype 2+2 coupe.

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 $6 000 which was later found to be far too low, as the experts around then viewed the Apollo GT as a $10 000 car.

In August 1962, the first production Apollo 3500 GT coupe was delivered and introduced at Spencer Buick, in San Francisco. Following the San Francisco debut, Brown took the car to Hollywood and had a premiere showing at Phil Hall Buick on Sunset Boulevard. When Hall saw the Apollo, he gave Brown an order for the entire first year's production of 25 cars.

Although Apollo was a dismal failure as a company, the 1962-1965 Apollo GT itself was an undisputed success. Despite its uneventful and brief sales, the 1962-1965 Apollo GT was a success in every way except financially. Ironically, the better things became with orders for the Apollo the worse they got for the company. In retrospect, the Apollo could be classed as something of a successful failure.

The Apollo was featured in “Herbie the Love Bug”, a 1969 Disney movie. It was called the "Thorndike Special" in the movie.

                                                                   

       

Want a good one? Budget in around $100 000 to $150 000 and wait for one of the 88 owners to sell…….

1972 Porsche 911 Carrera RS

By Richardd Adams

"A celebrity in its own time and now more sought after than ever. Still a car that would blow most modern cars off the road today and with more raw appeal and charisma than seems mechanically possible."

"Sensational, even by Porsche standards" Autocar

The Carrera RS 2.7 was not marketed as the next iPad or Diablo, no, it was simply accepted as an evolution of the 911. But was it?
The RS was produced at the end of the first-generation 911 production run and is regarded as one of the best road cars of all time. At launch it was the fastest production 911 and immediately an unyielding race winner. Some feel it's the best 911 ever built.

The RS looked nearly the same as a 911S, the model it was derived from, however a few changes were introduced like a chin spoiler under the front bumper, rear fender bulges, wider wheels, an unusual "ducktail" rear spoiler with a stylish "Carrera" script across each door that matched the car's light Fuchs wheels . This Carrera script could be deleted by the buyer. 

It not only looked different, it was.  

Porsche had “added lightness”. The car was extremely light at 1,985 pounds (900 kg) hundreds of pounds less than a 911S. The RS used the 911S body shell, but with thinner body sheet metal and windshield glass. There were no springs to counterbalance the front trunk cover, a fiberglass rear engine lid fitted along with fiberglass bumpers. There was no undercoating, no sound insulation, no rear seat and with rubber mats in lieu of carpeting. 

The front seats had almost no padding; the door panels were plain, with a pull cord instead of an internal door handle. The dash had no clock, glove compartment lid or a passenger's sun visor.

The engine was derived from the Porsche 911S 2.4L engine. The existing cylinders were bored out to a capacity of 2,687 cc with a Nikasil coating on the light alloy cylinder walls. The bigger bore resulted in the greater 210 horsepower and 255 nm of torque. The fuel-injected flat six-cylinder air cooled engine,  was the largest used on a road-going Porsches of the time, achieving 0-60 mph in 5.6 seconds and onto 100 mph in just 12.8 seconds. Top speed was 150 mph (240km/hr). 

The 1972 RS was the first production road-race 911 sold to the public, except it could not be used on the road in America for anything but racing, due to the lack of emissions equipment. It was built to European road-race car rules.

The RS was very responsive to drive, with a quick-revving engine, good brakes and a light almost mind-reading steering. A harsh ride at low speeds was due to the race tuned suspension and wider tires.

Porsche needed to build 500 RS cars to meet the criteria for the Group 4 Special GT race category. The selling price for the stripped RS was $11,785, similar to the 911S in Germany. But an anxious sales department motivated Porsche to offer the RS with an optional $893 touring pack, that puts back the upholstered and trimmed interior from the 911S, along with the road friendly steel rear bumpers and guards. Many RS buyers ordered the touring pack as they wanted the fastest Porsche road car, but not for racing. A total of 1,560 or 1,580 RS models were built by the end of the 1973 model year.

The RS brought numerous wins to Porsche and in RSR form even more. The Targa Florio, the Daytona 24 Hours, the Sebring 12 hours and the World Manufacturers and IMSA Divers championships. These cars are still winning today.

With RS prices constantly rising, the cars don't get driven a lot these days, but if you are in the market for one, tell your bank manager to set aside around $150 000 to $400 000 for you.  

But be aware, there are a few non original clones about .......

The Audi Quattro Group 2

By Richardd Adams February 2013

After spending only 30 minutes test driving the new car, the Finnish rally champion Hannu Mikkola said: “I have just experienced a convincing view of the future. Quattro will change the rally scene once and for all.” And this car did.

 With the unveiling of Audi’s rally challenger, the most significant rally car of all time made its debut to the world in 1980. The Quattro was the first four-wheel-drive car for rally competition.

The car won the first rally it entered, the Austrian round of the European championship in 1981: It was like introducing Hurricane Sandy to the folks at the bridge club. It was an immediate winner. The Quattro, in various versions, competed for 4 ½ years, winning 4 championships and changed rallying forever.

The original Audi Quattro competition car was, for the most part, based on the road-going Quattro models. The latter Group B cars were more specialized. The original competition version produced approximately 300 bhp (224 kW), the same output that Porsche were getting from their 3 liter 911 Turbo at that time. 

In 1981 and the following 3 years, Audi responded to the new Group B rules and the Quattro evolved with A1 and A2 versions. The 5-cylinder engine 20v DOHC aluminum alloy 2133 cc engine (130.2 cu in) was being tuned constantly and would peak eventually at around 600 bhp (450kw) at 8000 rpm.  The Sport Quattro S1 E2 is regarded as the most powerful international rally car ever.

To reduce the turbo lag in battle, the turbocharger has a recirculation air circuit to keep the turbo spinning at high rpm when the throttle was closed. The engine resumed full power immediately on the resumption of full throttle. 

As the power output increased, an aerodynamic body kit was fitted to increase down force and Audi managed a weight reduction to 1090 kg (2403 lb).  A 3.1 second 0-100 km/h (62 mph) acceleration time was soon possible on most surfaces.

The Quattro evolutions were driven by the rally greats Hannu Mikkola, Stig Blomqvist, Hannu Mikkola and Walter Röhrl .

Michèle Mouton won the 1981 San Remo rally in a Quattro, the first woman to win a rally at international level. 

She went on to win the 1985 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb too. Audi won Pikes Peak again in 1987 in the hands of Walter Röhrl.

There were 224 cars of the S1 Sport Quattro built, at a price of 203,850 German Marks.

A Ford RS200 pilot plunged into the crowd in the 1986 Rallye de Portugal, killing 3 spectators and injuring 30.

Audi announced their withdrawal from the rallying shortly thereafter.

Walter Röhrl puts the quattro through its paces in this video below:

Bugatti Type 35 Grand Prix Car 

By Richardd Adams 25 February

Bugatti’s motto “Pur Sang”, means “pure bred”

Born on 15 September 1881 in Milan, Ettore Bugatti left his mark on the automotive world with the type 35. He wanted to offer his customers a good-looking race car and the type 35 certainly was a work of art.

In 1924, the racing Bugattis returned to a conventional chassis with the type 35. It was the first Bugatti to sport aluminum spoke wheels and it was initially fitted with a 2 liter 8 cylinder engine. Later in that year it was equipped with the larger 2.3 liter engine.

The most successful formula one grand prix manufacturer today is Ferrari, with around 220 wins. The Bugatti Type 35 however was astonishingly successful, with over 1,000 race wins in its time. To download their race successes will take all day. It is the most successful race car on record and continues to be so to this day.

Well-known test pilot and racer Chris Staniland drove a supercharged 4 cylinder example to lap England's Brooklands Circuit at 122 mph (195 km/hr) in the 1930s--a rather amazing speed for such a small car.

It won the 1926 Grand Prix World Championship with 351 wins and set 47 records in the two years before that. At its prime, type 35s were winning around 14 races per week. 

It claimed victory in the Targa Florio for five consecutive years and from 1925 through 1929 it became the most dominant race car of the decade. Later models went on to win the 24 hour Le Mans, twice!

The Type 35 had a lightweight chassis and was blessed with a low centre of gravity. These made the 750kg (1650 lb) cars particularly maneuverable and this agility was highlighted on short tracks.

The small-displacement, 8-cylinder engine with roller-bearings, allowed for a much higher rev limit, the supercharger provided power throughout the rev range, and the handling was simply extraordinary. 

Today, completely original Bugatti Type 35s are very valuable, these are number matching examples, with all their original components.

The "non original cars" were regarded as such, as these were basically “built from original parts" and as a result are worth somewhat less.  

 The original selling list price was 130,000 FF (about $75,000 today).  Of the original batch, 96 cars were produced.

The current selling price of a fully restored, original part’s numbers matching Type 35, will be well over $1 million.

The car is regarded by many as automotive art !

The Sleeper Car

By Richardd Adams: February 2013

And nothing like what the Sleeper name may suggest, waking them is what driving dreams are made of…..and you won't find them on You Tube.

A “sleeper” is a car that has somewhat higher performance than the unassuming exterior suggests. Sleeper cars are termed such because their exterior looks little or no different, from a standard or economy-class car, yet they are "all go and little show".

While appearing to be a standard or neglected car, mechanically they are modified to perform at elevated performance levels. 

Cars with external visual elements that give the impression of higher performance, are not true sleeper cars.

1952 Nash-Healey with 3.8 litre Twin Cam Jaguar power

  In 1971, the builder visited a local junk yard and came home with the body of a 1952 Nash-Healey Roadster.  Being a life-long Jaguar enthusiast, he got the idea of reviving the Nash-Healey by using all Jaguar running gear. 

He installed a 3.8 liter engine, transmission and front suspension from a ’62 Jaguar Mark II, and a rear suspension from a ’67 Jaguar XK-E. Now the Jaguar engine was set up to haul a 2000 kg family saloon in a sporting way, but now with a lightweight low profile 2 seater body fitted ........... this cat can sprint!

1953 Hillman Minx Californian with Chevy V8

 It appears completely standard and like a good sleeoer, it gives no clues as to what lies within. So it may not handle that well, or stop on a dime, but it can put down rubber.... lots of it.

This modest looking 1953 Hillman Minx is said to be a closet hot rod, as it is now powered by a tuned Chevy 350 V8. The owner estimates the output to be around 375-400hp range, which is a 10 times that of the original small four cylinder.

The remaining drive train has also been upgraded with a Muncie 4-speed and the steering from an Australian Ford Falcon.

1966 Ford Cortina GT V8

Fitted with a 331 cubic inch Ford Windsor V8 built by the Mustang Ranch in California. The engine feeds through a T-5 gearbox with a Hurst shifter and a 8” Ford rear axle, with new Richmond 3.55 gears and a True-Trac limited slip diff. That puts all that power to the wheels. 

Handling has been improved with a rebuilt steering box, Koni adjustable front coil-overs, Koni sport rear shocks, a 50mm (2") front sway bar, and  re-bushed control arms. The Tarox front disk brakes has braided steel brake lines and a dual brake master cylinder with front rear bias control. This setup halt things quickly. Finishing off with Superlite wheels and Toyo Proxes RA1 tires.  Not your ordinary 4 cylinder Lotus Cortina!

1970 Classic Mini with Yamaha R1 Motorcycle Motor

This 1970 Mini has been fitted with a full ’03 Yamaha R1 enginr, including the 998cc, 11,500 RPM, 155 HP four and a sequential six speed. Be warned this car is FAST and scary. It sits parked next to a 500 hp Camaro, yet the Mini scares the owner more. 

Once the engine gets into the power band, you better hold on for your dear life.     .

Love it, love the idea of it, love the execution. It is an utter riot!

VW Beetle WRX STi Turbo

If you believe that with its never breathless  44 bhp 1.3-liter air-cooled engine, the 1970's Volkswagen Beetle is a challenging car on the road, then imagine what it would be like to control a Bug fitted with a 282hp (210kW) 2.0-liter turbocharged boxer engine from a Subaru Impreza WRX STi

This a sleeper is not to be messed with. But then you will not know that .... until it blows your weekend track car away.

1973 Ford Escort Mk1 V8

This 1973 Ford Escort Mark1 is now powered by a 500 hp TVR aluminum V8, which is said to be lighter than a Ford Zetec 4-cylinder. It has some track day wear and tear is road legal and has Lotus Exige 320mm AP racing brakes fitted. Wow!

Not your run of the mill track day Escort ........no, it’s a lot more earthshaking ....

1977 Toyota Celica Hot Rod

This 1977 Toyota Celica has been thoroughly restored and includes many impressive modifications including a recent Honda S2000 drive train. The coupe body style is unassuming and the trimmed bumper set-up keeps the proportions favorable. Performance, well, a whole lot better!

1991 Alfa Romeo SpiderV8

This 1991 Alfa Romeo Spider has been given an entirely different personality thanks to a Ford V8 transplant. With power brakes and steering it is extremely easy to drive and a sleeper for sure.  A heavy duty Chevy rear end, a bulged hood and power windows and mirrors make this a fun daily driver.  

Clean and rust free, this car is fully sorted and finished……. with plenty of tire smoking torque.

Mini Clubman with Rover V8 engine

The car has been modified several times, rebuilt after a serious crash and had all kind of engines. The latest incarnation project includes an engine/gearbox transplant. The Rover V8 speedboat engine fits under the Clubman bonnet. 

Gearbox is originally from an Austin Princess. It is of Mini design, located underneath the engine. Surprisingly the Rover block and Princess gearbox fitted pretty easily (?) together with only a few adapter plates. A new final drive was specially designed and machined for this engine, ratio is around 1 : 2,7.

Ford Granada Koenigsegg Twin Turbo V8

Putting aside the1980s aero body bits, the only other interesting bit about the exterior of this Granada are the license plates.

Pop up the hood, however, and it's an entirely different story, as this family car has been fitted with 4.7-liter Ford V8 from a Koenigsegg CCX supercar and that is good for a whopping 1,700-horsepower (1290kw)! That is twice the power of a Grand Prix car!

Add the rear suspension from a 2003/2004 Ford Mustang Cobra with a Porsche braking system and you entitled to some track side underwear changing fun!

Lets start again, A sleeper is ?

Well, if you not driving it, then they could be all around you ......... able to mortify your runabout GT.