Pietro Frua
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Pietro Frua (2 May 1913 - 28 June 1983) was one of the leading Italian
coachbuilder A coachbuilder or body-maker is someone who manufactures bodies for passenger-carrying vehicles.Construction has always been a skilled trade requiring a relatively lightweight product with sufficient strength. The manufacture of necessarily ...
s and car designers during the 1950s and 1960s.


Early years

Frua was born in
Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
, the centre of coachbuilding in northern
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. He was the fourth son of Angela, a tailor, and Carlo Frua, an employee of
Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...
. After school he was educated as a
draftsman A drafter (also draughtsman / draughtswoman in British and Commonwealth English, draftsman / draftswoman or drafting technician in American and Canadian English) is an engineering technician who makes detailed technical drawings or plans for ...
at the Scuola Allievi Fiat, where he underwent his apprenticeship.


Design career

Frua's professional career began at the age of 17, when he joined
Stabilimenti Farina Stabilimenti Industriali Farina (Turin, 1906–53) was an Italian automotive coachbuilder established by Giovanni Carlo Farina (1884–1957) in ''12 Corso Tortona''. Among famous employees was his brother Battista Farina, who was here from the ...
as a draftsman. At the age of 22, he became Director of Styling at the Stabilimenti Farina, already a leading Turin coachbuilder employing several hundred people. Some credit him with having influenced early designs of the iconic
Vespa Vespa () is an Italian luxury brand of scooter (motorcycle), scooters and mopeds manufactured by Piaggio. The name means wasp in Italian. The Vespa has evolved from a single model motor scooter manufactured in 1946 by Piaggio & Co. S.p.A. of ...
while at Farina. That was where Frua had his first contact with
Giovanni Michelotti Giovanni Michelotti (6 October 1921 – 23 January 1980) was one of the most prolific designers of sports cars in the 20th century. His notable contributions were for Ferrari, Lancia, Maserati and Triumph marques. He was also associated with ...
, who became his successor as Head of Styling after he started his own studio in 1938. During World War II car-styling work was scarce and Frua had to turn to designing children's cars, electric
oven upA double oven A ceramic oven An oven is a tool which is used to expose materials to a hot environment. Ovens contain a hollow chamber and provide a means of heating the chamber in a controlled way. In use since antiquity, they have been us ...
s and kitchen units, as well as a
monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...
motorscooter A scooter (motor scooter) is a motorcycle with an underbone or step-through frame, a seat, and a platform for the rider's feet, emphasizing comfort and fuel economy. Elements of scooter design were present in some of the earliest motorcycles ...
. Frua planned for post-war times: in 1944 he bought a bombed-out factory, hired 15 workers (including Sergio Coggiola, who founded his own carrozzeria in 1966) and equipped himself to
design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...
and build
car A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as ...
s. His first known car is a 1946
Fiat 1100C Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...
spyder The SPYDER ("Surface-to-air Python and Derby") is an Israeli short and medium range mobile air defence system developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems with assistance from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). Rafael is the prime contractor a ...
.
Maserati Maserati S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury vehicle manufacturer. Established on 1 December 1914, in Bologna, Italy, the company's headquarters are now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. The company has been owned by Stellantis since 2021. Ma ...
was one of the first clients who contracted Frua for the styling of their new 2-litre, 6-cylinder sports car, the A6G. From 1950 to 1957, Frua built 19 Spyders and seven
coupé A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past parti ...
s in three different design series – including some on the A6 GCS racing
chassis A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of an artificial object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpart ...
. In 1957, Frua sold his small coachbuilding company to Carrozzeria
Ghia Carrozzeria Ghia SpA (established 1916 in Turin) is an Italian automobile design and coachbuilding firm, established by Giacinto Ghia and Gariglio as "Carrozzeria Ghia & Gariglio". The headquarters are located at Corso Guglielmo Marconi, 4, Turin ...
in Turin, and Ghia director
Luigi Segre Luigi "Gigi" Segre (8 November 1919 – 28 February 1963) was an Italian automotive designer noted for his business and engineering acumen during his stewardship and ownership of Carrozzeria Ghia (1953–63), one of an Italy's premier automobile d ...
appointed him head of Ghia Design. In this short period, Frua was responsible for the successful
Renault Floride Floride may refer to: ''Floride'' is the French name for Florida and may be used in Francophone references to the state: * Floride (film) * Renault Floride, a sports car * French Florida (french: Floride française, links=no) Other uses: * An ...
, which experienced well-deserved commercial success (about 117,000 were sold in ten years). This success led to a disagreement between Segre and Frua over the car's “paternity”, and Frua left Ghia to start his own design studio again. At the same time,
Pelle Petterson Pelle Helmer Petterson (born 31 July 1932) is a Swedish sailor and yacht designer. He is the son of Helmer Petterson and Norwegian-born Borgny Petterson (born Holm), and studied design at the leading Pratt Institute in New York from 1955 thr ...
designed his
Volvo P1800 The Volvo P1800 (pronounced ''eighteen-hundred'') is a 2+2, front-engine, rear-drive sports car manufactured and marketed by Volvo Cars between 1961 and 1973. Originally a coupé (1961–1972), it was also offered in a shooting-brake configurati ...
under the attentive eye of Frua and, not surprisingly, it is often attributed to Frua's pen. From 1957 to 1959, Frua also designed several cars for
Ghia-Aigle Carrosserie Ghia S.A., Aigle (established 1948 in Aigle, Switzerland, closed 1988) was a Swiss automobile design and manufacturing company, commonly referred to as Ghia-Aigle. Established by P. P. Filippi of Torino, the company originally op ...
, the former Swiss subsidiary of Ghia Turin, already independent at that time. Giovanni Michelotti was his predecessor in this position. After Ghia-Aigle finished coachbuilding, a former employee, Adriano Guglielmetti, started his own business and founded Carrosserie Italsuisse in
Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
. Again Pietro Frua did the drawings and, most probably, built all the
prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...
s for this company. After a Corvair-like styled pontoon-Beetle in 1960, Italsuisse showed a
Maserati 3500 The Maserati 3500 GT (''Tipo 101'') and the Maserati 3500 GT Spyder (''Tipo 101/C'') are 2-door coupé and convertible grand tourers made by Italian car manufacturer Maserati between 1957 and 1964. It was a seminal vehicle for Maserati as the comp ...
GTI Coupé on the Italsuisse stand at the 1961 Motor Show in Geneva, together with two tasteful bodies on
Studebaker Studebaker was an American wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana, with a building at 1600 Broadway, Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 as the Studebaker Brothers M ...
chassis. In 1964 a lovely little Spyder followed with
Opel Kadett The Opel Kadett is a small family car produced by the German automobile manufacturer Opel from 1936 until 1940 and then from 1962 until 1991 (the Cabrio continued until 1993), when it was succeeded by the Opel Astra. Kadett I (1936–1940) ...
mechanics. During the 1960s Pietro Frua was among the most prominent car designers in Italy. The “Frua line” was synonymous with the good taste of a single man. He followed each car's realization to the last detail of fully functional one-offs and prototypes, often driving them to their presentation at the motor shows in Europe.


Glas

In 1963, at the age of 50 and at the peak of his career, Frua designed a range of cars for Glas, Germany's smallest car-maker. This included the GT Coupé and Cabriolet as well as the larger V8-engined 2600, often called "Glaserati" for its likeness with Frua's Maserati-designs. These were built until 1968 as the BMW GT, after BMW had bought Glas.


Maserati Mistral

Also in 1963, Maserati showed the Frua-bodied four-door
Quattroporte The Maserati Quattroporte () is a four-door full-size luxury sports sedan produced by Italian automobile manufacturer Maserati. The name translated from Italian means "four doors". The car is currently in its sixth generation, with the first g ...
which, after several one-offs, re-established Frua's connection with this manufacturer. Two years later, the
Mistral Mistral may refer to: * Mistral (wind) in southern France and Sardinia Automobiles * Maserati Mistral, a Maserati grand tourer produced from 1963 until 1970 * Nissan Mistral, or Terrano II, a Nissan 4×4 produced from 1993 until 2006 * Microp ...
was shown, cementing Frua's status in the mid-sixties. With these cars Maserati was positioned into a new market of luxury and powerful, understated cars.


AC Frua

In 1965, AC showed the powerful, Frua-bodied 7-litre
AC Frua The AC Frua or AC 428 is a British GT built by AC Cars from 1965 to 1973. Production was 81 cars built in total: 49 coupés (known as fastbacks), 29 convertibles, and 3 special bodied. History The Frua is built on an AC Cobra 427 Mark III chas ...
Spyder, which drew from the Mistral's shape. A coupé followed in 1967. In the same year, the Swiss racing driver and Ferrari importer Peter Monteverdi started to build a Frua-bodied sport coupé, the
Chrysler Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...
engined Monteverdi High Speed 375S. He also designed the Monteverdi 2000 GTI, but this remained a one-off. Due to Frua's limited capacities, the production of the following High Speed models went to Fissore in Turin. However, the Monteverdi Hai 450 is believed to have been designed by Frua. At the end of the 1960s, Frua tried in vain to prolong his success with Glas by making a dozen proposals to BMW. BMW decided to make it on their own. Although he was not the principal designer, Frua produced the bodywork and did final assembly and detailing for
Peter Kalikow Peter Stephen Kalikow (born December 1, 1942) is president of H. J. Kalikow & Company, LLC, a New York City-based real estate firm. He is a former chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA),
's
Momo Mirage The Momo Mirage was an American Grand Touring coupe built in Italy. Several prototypes were completed in the early 1970s before the project was cancelled. History Conception The Momo Mirage was created by Peter Kalikow, with considerable input ...
prototypes in the early 1970s. Frua had been recommended to Kalikow by
Derek Hurlock Derek is a masculine given name. It is the English language short form of ''Diederik'', the Low Franconian form of the name Theodoric. Theodoric is an old Germanic name with an original meaning of "people-ruler". Common variants of the name are ...
, chairman and managing director of
AC Cars AC Cars, originally incorporated as Auto Carriers Ltd., is a British specialist automobile manufacturer and one of the oldest independent car makers founded in Britain. As a result of bad financial conditions over the years, the company was re ...
, in part because of his work on the AC Frua. In the 1970s Frua reduced the frequency of his presentations, but in the sixth decade of his life he still demonstrated his good taste and craftsmanship to the younger ones who already had taken their role in the industrial process. There was no longer a demand to build completely detailed and functional prototypes in less than ten weeks, and no more customers for special bodied one-offs. One of his last designs to enter series production was the two-door GT
Maserati Kyalami The Maserati Kyalami (Tipo AM129) is a four-seat GT coupé produced by Italian automobile manufacturer Maserati from 1976 to 1983. The car was named after the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit in South Africa where a Maserati-powered Cooper T81 had wo ...
first shown at the 1976
Geneva Motor Show The Geneva International Motor Show is an annual auto show held in March in the Swiss city of Geneva. The show is hosted at the Palexpo, a convention centre located next to the Geneva Cointrin International Airport. The Salon is organised by th ...
.


Later years

In 1982 Pietro Frua developed
cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
and had unsuccessful surgery in the autumn of that year. He married his long-time assistant, Gina, shortly before he died on 28 June 1983, a few weeks after his 70th birthday.


See also

*
Car body style There are many types of car body styles. They vary depending on intended use, market position, location, and the era they were made in. Current styles ;Buggy (automobile), Buggy: Lightweight off-road vehicle with sparse bodywork. ;Converti ...
*
Car classification Governments and private organizations have developed car classification schemes that are used for various purposes including regulation, description, and categorization of cars. The International Standard ISO 3833-1977 ''Road vehicles – Types ...


External links


''Registro Pietro Frua''
- The complete history and an extensive illustrated description of over 200 cars designed and built by Pietro Frua.
Coachbuild.com Encyclopedia: Frua


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frua, Pietro 1913 births 1983 deaths Automotive engineers from Turin Coachbuilders of Italy