23. Apollo 3500
This car goes under several names including the Vetta Ventura and Griffith GT, but the project started as the Apollo 3500. It was the brainchild of Californian engineer Milt Brown who wanted to build a proper sports car to rival the European exotics. With the help of Intermeccanica founder Frank Reisner, the Apollo project started to take shape as a handsome coupe with a 3.5-liter Buick V8.
They later moved the production to Texas and renamed the car the Vetta Ventura, but it stayed the same. However, they gave it an upgraded engine in the form of the 4.9-liter Buick V8. Production started in 1962 and lasted until 1965, but there are some reports that they completed the last examples in the early ’70s. In the end, they only built 90 cars. The Apollo 3500 delivered 240 HP from its V8 engine and thanks to its lightweight, it was a capable coupe. But, the production problems, high prices, and unknown company were problems that were too big to overcome.