Apollo 5000 GT

1964 Apollo 5000 GT

Offered by Russo & Steele | Monterey, California | August 16-18, 2012

Well the countdown to Monterey is underway and the level of incredible cars is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Russo & Steele were the first to get their complete catalog online, so they get featured first. And no, this is not a Ferrari 330, as much as it may resemble one.

It’s an Apollo – a short-lived American marque based in Oakland, California – not necessarily the first place that comes to mind when you see a stylish Italian automobile. But Italian it was – at least partly. Intermeccanica of Italy produced the bodies, which were mounted to fresh Buick Skylark chassis. The engine was also from Buick, a 4.9-liter V8 making 225 horsepower. There was also an Apollo 3500 GT model with a 3.5-liter Buick V8.

This car has neither engine. It’s a 5000 GT, but the engine under hood is actually a Chevy 327. When Apollo had the cars shipped from Italy with the bodies, they were to go to Oakland for installation of their powertrain. They did – except for seven of them which were sold before they ever made it back to the Oakland shop. The owners took it upon themselves to finish the cars. Five got Chevy engines, one got a Ford… and one disappeared. The man who bought this car took it to a shed in San Francisco to complete it, but then disappeared. The car was rediscovered in 2004, when the current owner acquired it and completed it using the Chevy engine.

Only 66 Apollo coupes were built and this is #43. This is a rare car and it is quite nice, having only covered about 3,600 miles. The fact that it was completed only a few years ago makes it essentially a new Apollo. No estimate is available, but a 5000 GT in similar condition was recently for sale with an asking price of about $125,000. For more information, click here. And for more from Russo & Steele in Monterey, click here.

Update: Not sold.

Tell Us What You Think!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.