Pietro Frua was one of Italy’s prominent coachbuilders and car designers in the 1950s and 1960s, with his name linked to many beautiful creations from Maserati, AC, and Glas (the small German company BMW bought in 1966).
Frua also supervised the design of the iconic Volvo P1800 coupe when his company was a subsidiary of Carrozzeria Ghia, and during that phase of his career he designed the Renault Floride / Caravelle convertible.
As you can imagine, there are many more interesting cars linked to his name, but few are as intriguing as the 1976 Chevrolet Camaro ‘Europo Hurst’ by Frua. First unveiled at the Turin Auto Show in November 1976, this re-bodied second-generation Camaro represented Pietro Frua’s vision of a modern Italian redesign for the American pony car. Needless to say, it had almost nothing in common with the donor car’s styling.
See Also: Try This For Bespoke – 1973 Rolls Royce Phantom VI Coachbuilt By Frua
By 1977, when the car was exhibited at the NY Auto Show, it had gained ten-spoke Vincent wheels and tinted Hurst Hatches, or removable T-top panels, above the doors. The coachbuilt Camaro was presented at the show by NYC-based Multi-Passenger Export, a company which claimed it would be offering identical conversions of stock Camaros through both GM dealers and Hurst performance parts suppliers as the “Europo Hurst.”
Later that year, Standard Motors of Miami also released an ad claiming to be the exclusive distributor for the conversion. However, it is unclear whether the Florida company had a deal with Multi-Passenger Export to sell the Europo Hurst Camaro in the United States or planned to release a duplicate. What truly matters is the fact that the NY show car has survived to this day as part of the Dennis Mitosinka collection in Los Angeles.
Acquired in 1990, the 1976 Camaro Europo Hurst by Frua with chassis number 1Q87L6N629737 was sold last month for just $31,900 at an RM Sotheby’s auction, far below the estimate of $80,000 – $120,000. Finished in the same color as the New York show car and boasting the Hurst Hatches, this particular vehicle no longer has the original wheels; they were more recently upgraded to magnesium units with custom Frua badges.
In addition, the pale blue vinyl front seats were long ago replaced by blue grey cloth buckets, though the rear seats retain their original pale blue vinyl upholstery. Elsewhere, the Italian Camaro remains in largely untouched condition and, since it’s beginning to show age, it could do with some TLC. There’s bubbling under the paint in many areas and the interior requires a thorough cleaning.
The 347 cu-in (5.7-liter) V8 and four-speed manual transmission appear thoroughly original, though it remains to be seen how many of the original 165 horses still reside under the hood. Recent work done to the car included a new battery and services to the carburetor and brakes. The Camaro Europo Hurst by Frua was sold with a file of service documentation, Frua historical materials, and vintage photographs. Here’s hoping the buyer will use them to bring back the original shine to this unique and peculiar Camaro.
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