This is an Intermeccanica Italia Spyder, it’s an oft-forgotten Italian sports car powered by an American drivetrain, and its performance put it on par with the Ferraris and Lamborghinis of the day, but with a far lower price tag.
The Italia was offered as both a coupe and a convertible with a tubular steel chassis designed by Formula 1 and Indy 500 chassis engineer John Crosthwaite and a body designed by Robert Cumberford. The car was powered by a Ford V8, offering none of the complexity of the Italian V12s – making them far cheaper to maintain.
Fast Facts – The Intermeccanica Italia Spyder
- The Intermeccanica Italia Spyder is a rare Italian-American sports car, designed by John Crosthwaite and Robert Cumberford, featuring a tubular steel chassis and powered by reliable Ford V8 engines. Produced between 1966 and 1972, approximately 300-400 were made, combining Italian styling and American drivetrain affordability.
- Intermeccanica, founded by Frank and Paula Reisner in 1959, originally built tuning parts and smaller cars. They gained recognition with the Apollo GT, their first full-sized, Buick-powered model. The company later achieved broader success with the Italia, initially named Griffith 600 and Omega, before settling on the name “Italia.”
- The 1969 Italia Spyder shown here underwent extensive refurbishment in Canada a decade ago, including a repaint, new gray leather interior, suspension, steering, and a mechanical rebuild. The upgraded 351 V8 engine now includes Edelbrock performance components and finned valve covers, paired with a four-speed manual transmission.
- Notable features of this restored Italia include 15″ Borrani wire wheels, Bilstein shocks, power-assisted disc brakes, a new soft top, electric cooling fan, Wilton wool carpets, power windows, and a Nardi steering wheel. It’s currently for sale in Scottsdale, Arizona, complete with restoration documentation and a clean title.
A History Speedrun: Intermeccanica
Intermeccanica was founded by a friendly Hungarian-born Canadian guy named Frank and his wife Paula in 1959. They moved from Canada to Torino, Italy and named the company Construzione Automobili Intermeccanica. Initially they produced performance parts and tuning kits for European cars from marques like Peugeot, Renault, Simca, DKW, Puch, and Fiat.
The styling of the Intermeccanica Italia has long been lauded, some have compared it to the C3 Corvette but it was targeted more at the exotic cars coming from Ferrari and Lamborghini.
In 1960 the company built a Formula Junior car with a rear-mounted engine, but their first low-volume production car was a little 500cc Steyr-Daimler-Puch vehicle using part of a Fiat 500 chassis called the IMP. 21 were made, and one of them managed a class win at the Nurburgring.
The first full-sized car with an Intermeccanica body was built by a company in the USA using a Buick aluminum V8, and all-Buick running gear. It was called the Apollo GT, it was assembled in the USA, and in 1963 it was exhibited at the Turin Automobile Show. 111 Apollos were built, and it’s remembered today as the car that really launched Intermeccanica as “not just” a tuning parts company.
Things began to speed up for Intermeccanica in the mid-60s. Their Apollo 2+2 was judged best in show at the 1965 New York Automobile Show, they also built an interesting Ford Mustang station wagon prototype which was presented to the Ford Motor Company – although it was never picked up for production.
The Intermeccanica Italia Spyder
The Intermeccanica Italia Spyder is an Italian-American sports car that debuted in 1966, it was commissioned by Jack Griffith, the man behind the earlier Griffith Series 200, who wanted a larger sports car that would appeal to a wider market.
The interior is well laid out, with leather upholstery, a Blaupunkt AM/FM radio, polished Intermeccanica-branded door sill covers, power windows, and a wood-rimmed Nardi steering wheel.
Griffith didn’t do anything by half, and so he hired veteran racing engineer John Crosthwaite, a Formula 1 and Indy 500 chassis designer, to develop a new steel chassis for his car. The body was styled by automobile designer Robert Cumberford who was heralded for his work on the Intermeccanica Italia in the years that followed.
The car would be initially named the Griffith 600, however after 14 sales it became clear that Jack Griffith lacked the deep pockets needed for larger volume sports car manufacturing, so Steve Wilder stepped in and continued production with a new name – the Omega.
33 Omegas would be built before similar financial issues brought production to a halt. At this point, Intermeccanica organized funding through Credito Italiano in Italy and continued production as the Intermeccanica Torino. This was soon put to a stop as Ford had the trademark on the Torino name, and so Intermeccanica switched over to the Intermeccanica Italia name.
The Italia would be powered by Ford V8s, with early cars getting the 289 V8 used in the Mustang and later cars getting the larger-displacement 351 V8. Power was sent back through either a 4-speed manual or optional 3-speed automatic transmission to the rear wheels.
Approximately 400 examples of the Intermeccanica Italia would be built from 1966 to 1972, some claim the number was as high as 500+ units. It was by far the most successful production car ever made by the firm.
The car is powered by a 351 Ford V8 with a displacement of 351 cubic inches (5.7 liters). It’s fitted with an an Edelbrock 600 cfm four-barrel carburetor mounted to an Offenhauser intake manifold.
The Intermeccanica Italia is largely unknown today, though they do attract plenty of attention when they come up for sale, with people often mistaking them for modified C3 Corvettes much to the chagrin of their owners.
The 1969 Intermeccanica Italia Spyder Shown Here
The car you see here is a 1969 Intermeccanica Italia Spyder, it’s one of the 240 or so examples of the convertible Italia that were made.
It was given a refurbishment in Canada 10 years ago which included a repaint in its original color, an interior re-trim in dark gray leather, the steering and suspension was overhauled, the engine, transmission, and rear axle were also rebuilt at this time.
The car is powered by a 351 Ford V8 with a displacement of 351 cubic inches (5.7 liters). It’s fitted with an an Edelbrock 600 cfm four-barrel carburetor mounted to an Offenhauser intake manifold. The engine has been upgraded with an Edelbrock Performer RPM camshaft, and it’s been given finned “Powered by Ford” valve covers.
It has power assisted disc brakes at all four corners, 15″ Borrani alloy wire wheels fitted with 205/70 Pirelli P4000 tires, Bilstein shock absorbers, and a front anti-sway bar. During the restoration the car was given a new black soft top, a new wiring harness, a new alternator and starter motor, and it was given a new electric cooling fan.
The Intermeccanica Italia is largely unknown today, though they do attract plenty of attention when they come up for sale.
Inside the car you’ll find a leather interior including the seats, dashboard, center console, and door panels. The car has gray Wilton wool carpets, a Blaupunkt AM/FM radio, polished Intermeccanica-branded door sill covers, power windows, and a wood-rimmed Nardi steering wheel.
The car is now being offered for sale out of Scottsdale, Arizona with refurbishment records and a clean Arizona title. If you’d like to read more about it or place a bid you can visit the listing here.
Images courtesy of Bring a Trailer
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