The Apollo GT was an American development of a European sports car.

The 1964 Apollo GT was one of many small-batch sports cars that quickly faded into obscurity. But in this latest episode of "Jay Leno's Garage," with commentary from Kurt Brakhage, owner of the car featured in the video, and Rob Northrup, author of the book "Apollo GT: The American Ferrari," the full story is revealed

Apollo G.

The Apollo GT was the brainchild of Milton Brown, who decided to start a car company even though he was still in his early 20s. The investor initially proposed building a commuter car, but after touring an Italian car factory on his honeymoon, Brown declared that he would build the "American Ferrari," Northup explains in the video. Perhaps that is why the Apollo GT looks so much like the Ferraris of the time.

Braun combined an aluminum 215 cubic-inch Buick V-8 with 225 horsepower and a coachbuilt body, giving the Apollo GT European styling with the easy maintenance of an American powertrain. This was similar to the formula used in European-built cars like the Shelby Cobra, the Monteverdi High Speed 375S, and the Bizzarrini 5300GT.

Brown, who had an engineering degree and briefly worked as a draftsman and test driver for racing car builder Emeryson, designed the frame himself. In addition to the engine, he used several off-the-shelf parts, including Buick fin drum brakes and a BorgWarner four-speed manual transmission.

The body was manufactured in Italy by a complex arrangement. Apollo contracted with Intermeccanica, which subcontracted the work to coachbuilders, who in turn distributed the work to individual craftsmen.

Two aluminum-bodied prototypes, one a two-seater and one a 2+2-seater, were built, followed by 76 coupes and 11 convertibles. Prices started at about $6,500 for the coupe and $7,400 for the convertible. This was a considerable amount of money for the time, but not enough to make the Apollo GT profitable. Combined with the lack of initial funding for Apollo, the company did not last long. It is believed that only about 55 cars survive today.

This means that you are unlikely to see an Apollo GT on the streets today. So it's worth watching the full video to see this example on the streets of Los Angeles and hear the Buick V-8 impress like the best Ferrari V-12s.