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1952 Maserati A6G 2000 Frua coupe one off
Sold in 2007.
This is a unique Maserati A6G, the onlt coupe bodied by Frua. Frua created a magnificent design for this coupe, from which one can say it has superb lines and is proportioned into perfection.
With only 25.000 km covered, this is a real low miles car in totally original condition. It just had one repaint in it's very early days from maroon to red, now very much faded by the California sun.
We added some pictures when the car was new and competing in several concourse events where it took several first places. This is how the previous owner offered the car to me:
Maserati Grand Sport 2000 berlinetta Frua
Restoration Project For Sale
Chassis completed November, 1951
Frua coachwork completed March, 1952
This Maserati is unique and is one of very few Maserati cars of the 1950’s (and earlier) that truly demands a top-notch concours-level restoration in order to be considered “original”. She was built as a show car. Upon completion in 1952, she was displayed first at the very important Turin Salon late in April and into May where she garnered great acclaim alongside many other fabulous cars in a very interesting commercial show. Photos of this car appeared in various publications worldwide as a result.
During the summer of 1952, the car was displayed by the exclusive Italian agent for Maserati at the time, Guglielmo Dei. She won her class at the important concours d’elegance at the gardens of Pincio at Villa Borghese, Rome. Concours of that time in Italy and much of Europe were very important marketing tools, with business either gained or lost by comparison to what other builders, coachbuilders and vendors were doing. In post-display deliberations, the judges awarded this car the “Gran Premio d’Onore” which might be likened to today’s “Best of Show”.
In September of 1952, the car was displayed again at the “Concorso di Stresa” and once again won her class. A certificate of origin was issued 16 September for the car and this probably indicates that Guglielmo Dei was finally willing to sell the car as her promotional work for Maserati and his dealership had been accomplished.
During January of 1953, the car was sold to Tony Parravano, an Italian businessman who was living in California but kept the car in Rome in care of the Automobile Club Italiano of Rome.
Parravano did not bring the car to the USA but instead sold it in Italy in 1955 and it went through three more Italian owners before it was exported to California late in 1959 or early in 1960. Shortly after this time, the car was overhauled and re-sprayed a bright red over the original maroon and was then offered in Road & Track in December of 1962. Fortunately, a fair bit of maroon paint remains under the bright red, so the original color can be duplicated quite easily. Two wheels were replaced with slightly more modern A6G wheels, probably at this time but perhaps earlier.
Use in the 1960’s saw accident damage to the right side door but the repairs have been largely completed for many years. The transmission was replaced in the 1960’s by Maserati with a newly-rebuilt unit that was never used as the car was never re-assembled and run. The car has had five owners in California, but very little mileage was covered and the current Km odometer reading is believed to be correct or very close to correct at the indicated 25046 km, thus a bit more than 15,000 miles total. This low mileage may be due in part to limited use caused by a variety of factors that we might term negative by our standards of today. With 100 HP it is not a high-performance car and should be assumed to be fairly high-maintenance. The parts supply was never very good, but it was a useable show car of its day, something not every show car can claim to be.
You will not find another car like this anywhere else in the world, as this is the only one. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I consider this car to be more elegant than the convertible and would judge it above a convertible on “elegance” if all other factors were equal.