The story of Construzione Automobili Intermeccanica, in many ways parallels that of fellow Italian small constructor Abarth. Intermeccanica was founded in Turin, Italy, in 1959 by Hungarian Frank Reisner. In its first year, Intermeccanica produced aftermarket performance kits for more pedestrian European marques such as Renault, Simca, Peugeot and DKW. Like Abarth, Intermeccanica next moved into the production of “free-flow” exhaust systems, which by 1960 led to the production of their first small car, based on the 500-cc Steyr-Puch.
By 1961, Intermeccanica entered into a partnership with Californian Milt Brown to produce a new sports car, the Apollo GT, which would feature an Intermeccanica-built frame and body, assembled in Oakland, California, with a Buick V8 for power. While well received, the Apollo GT was an underfunded project that resulted in only 90 examples being built until 1965.
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