Miguel Sánchez
PHOTOS BMW 2800 GTS FRUA: BMW CLASSIC
What you are seeing here is a true gem for connoisseurs. In fact, the best proof of this is that BMW Classic knows it. And is that this BMW 2800 GTS Fruit it is one of the last restoration works carried out by the classics division in the Bavarian house. A unique specimen, with a Spanish past, and which this March has been presented after meticulous work in which the original color has been restored. The striking light green that gives a touch of daring to its elegant lines.
Lines signed by one of the legends of Italian industrial design: Pietro Frua. The same man who was trained at the FIAT School, he got his first job as a draftsman at Stablimenti Farina and then founded his own company in 1937. A myth for any fan of Italian design, starting with the fact that he himself was Giovanni's work godfather Michelotti. Almost nothing. And also, between car and car, he designed electrical appliances and motorcycles.
A busy career that in the 60s was already defined by the nickname of "Frua Line", due to the recognizable of its elegant designs. Designs that in the 60s were reflected in several automobiles of the German brand Glas, which was absorbed by BMW to lead our character to the creation of this BMW 2800 GTS Frua prototype. An exercise in style that did not reach series production and that now, after not a few vicissitudes, has been returned by BMW Classic to its original state.
PIETRO FRUA: HIS GERMAN JOB FROM GLAS TO BMW
At the age of 50, Pietro Frua had gained a reputation as a true professional. And no, not only for its careful designs. But also because of the care he put into each order, managing to personally drive more than one of his prototypes to the place of presentation. Thus, at the beginning of the 60s he jumped across the Italian borders to design the entire range of the small German manufacturer Glass. The brand that, after having manufactured the popular Goggomobil, was absorbed by BMW, marketing models such as the Glas V8.
A rare coupe baptized as "glass era”Due to its resemblance to the Maseratis of the time, which, obviously, is due to its bodywork signed by Pietro Frua. In this state of glory, our protagonist came to present more than 10 possible designs to BMW with the intention of making a career in the brand. However, the German stubbornness closed in on such attempts. Pietro Frua could not get into the pay of BMW, although he made up for it by signing the design of the Rolls-Royce Phantom VI Cabriolet at the beginning of the 70s.
Anyway, the truth is that by examining some details of the BMWs produced at the time Frua tried to enter the company, we can see some distinctive details of the Italian. An imprint that remained in the aesthetic definition of the German house, which used this BMW 2800 GTS Frua in several car shows. A symbol of its time in which, playing similarities, we guess the lines of the Iso Grifo Series I.
BMW 2800 GTS FRUA: A PROTOTYPE WITH HISTORY IN SPAIN
Among all the proposals that the designer presented to the Germans is this BMW 2800 GTS Frua. A coupe concept that unfortunately never made it into production because the brand had all its energies put into developing a versatile and profitable model: the future series 3 1975. However, the BMW team walked the prototype through various fairs, premiering it at the 1969 Frankfurt one to finish at the Barcelona one that same year.
From one event to another, it changed its color from green to burgundy, and was later repainted in metallic blue by the buyer who bought it after its exhibition in Barcelona. A buyer who also put up a sunroof. Elements that have had to be remodeled by BMW Classic, which has invested several years of work after taking over the car in the Netherlands. A process in which its original mechanics have been restored: a six-cylinder like those fitted in the BMW 2800CS.
In addition, the interior has been left as it was designed by Pietro Frua, as well as the green seventies paint. A color that has been faithfully reproduced thanks to the samples found on the hinge of the tank lid. A work almost of archeology, which gives clues to the painstaking restoration to original condition undergone by this BMW 2800 GTS Frua. A prototype already kept in the museum of the brand, which testifies to how far the collaboration between Frua and BMW could have gone.
