by Mike Gulett –
The Apollo GT was produced and sold by International Motor Cars in Oakland, California. Altogether 76 coupes, 11 Spyders and the prototype 2+2 were produced for a total of 88 Apollos built between 1961 and 1965.
Of the 11 Spyders made 4 were at Concorso Italiano in Monterey, California in August 2013. They were all dark blue as you can see in these photos.
The front of the Spyder looks the same as the Coupe
The rear of the Spyder is quite different than the Coupe
When some car models are converted from a coupe to a convertible version the manufacture merely cuts off the top and maybe adds some lateral stability to make up for no roof.
The Apollo GT Spyder looks like a different car from the rear than the Coupe version. See the comparisons below, it appears that every panel on the rear is different.
Apollo GT Coupe
The entire rear of the car is completely redesigned; the bumpers look the same, the tail lights look different to me but maybe not and the trunk lid is totally different.
The Spyder looks more Italian to me than the Coupe.
Apollo GT Coupe
The Spyder has the same beautiful interior as the Coupe and the same great Buick engine.
Let us know what you think in the Comments.
Photos by Mike Gulett.
Here’s another one. I think that these 11 cars are the ultimate one-off. Great report, Thanx
Mike, good info but some inaccuracies. First, there are only 10 original Spyders. Body/chassis number 11 was destroyed in the Oakland fire in 1991, and was never assembled into a car.
Not all Spyders were dark blue. Red was another popular color. 2002 was originally red.
We know that the first one (2001) had the Buick 215 (3500 cc) aluminum engine. Most others had the Buick 300 (5000) engine. But documentation is scarce because some leftover body/chassis units were assembled into cars by individuals.
The Spyder was actually adapted by Franco Scaglione (who also cleaned up Ron Plescia’s original design for the Apollo coupe). The rear quarter line — from the rear of the door back — is about 1 inch higher than on the coupe in order to create the depressions (troughs) between the quarter and the deck lid. A true masterpiece! Milt Brown told me that he charged only $300 for the work!
The tail lights are about 2 1/2 inches further to the side than on the coupe, and the bumper on 2001 is higher as well. The remaining nine Spyders had bumpers in the same location as the coupes.
Tail lights are Altissimo brand as used on the Ferrari 250 California Spyder but put on their side!
My book: Apollo GT: The American Ferrari goes into greater detail on all this.
A question to Frederick Johnson” Could you tell me about the red Spyder in your post? I’m trying to update the Registry.
Robb Northrup
President, Apollo Owners Registry
I know Fred, and I know who and where that red car belongs to but I’m hesitant to say because Fred has not yet replied, perhaps he would rather keep the owner’s info secretive?
I’ll alert the owner top see if he would like to reply to you.
That last photo screams barn find.
Yes,, the barn is quite a find…HUGE, and all redwood from the 1800’s.
To me what hurts the Apollo is that the wheels are not inset enough in the wheelwell, and in themselves the spokes are not deep enough. I think soon after they were announced, others using wire wheels had them deeper so it makes the Apollo look like it “didn’t get the message.”