Ultra rare 1955 A6GCS Frua Spider to make UK debut
Thu, 27 Apr 2023
The Concours of Elegance has announced that the exceptional 1955 A6GCS Frua Spider will make its UK debut at Hampton Court Palace.
This vehicle, one of just three with Frua coachwork and only two that remain, is considered to be one of the most desirable and stunning cars of the 1950s.
It will be among over 70 privately owned cars from leading collections worldwide that will be on display from September 1st to the 3rd.
The A6GCS Frua Spider was created by Gugliemo ‘Mimmo’ Dei, the official Maserati dealer for Rome, who commissioned a series of cars based on the high-performance A6GCS platform.
The A6GCS/53 features a motorsport-honed mechanical system, including a potent 170bhp in-line six-cylinder engine and a lightweight tubular chassis by Gilco.
Dei commissioned design house Carrozzeria Frua to build a spider version to combine the A6GCS’s race-car like performance with an elegant open-top body, resulting in a work of automotive art.
Chassis number 2110, the car that will be displayed at Hampton Court, was completed in the autumn of 1956 after Dei requested two further Frua bodied cars.
The car features a specially ordered ultra-high performance dry-sump A6G/54 motor, delivering exceptional power and revving to some 7300rpm, which was remarkable for a road car in the mid-1950s.
Chassis 2110 remained in Italy for a time before being shipped to the United States in the late 1950s, where it has remained. It underwent a painstaking restoration under the supervision of Maserati aficionado Adolfo Orsi in the early 2000s and won the Coppa d’Oro, or ‘Best in Show,’ when it reappeared at Villa d’Este in 2010.
The Frua Spider’s appearance at Hampton Court Palace will be the first time it has been displayed in the UK and its first public showing since it won the Coppa d’Oro.
The Le Mans Centenary celebration, which will complement the display of 70 rare and spectacular Concours Cars, will be one of the event's highlights. The Concours of Elegance will also assemble around 1000 further cars in a series of special features and displays.
Concours of Elegance CEO James Brooks-Ward expressed delight in securing this exceptional Maserati for the event, stating that the Frua Spider is a "real tour de force of sports car design and engineering, with supremely elegant 1950s open-top styling that belies true race-bred performance. It’s a real privilege to show such a special car – one of just two in existence – on UK soil for the very first time."
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