The best in show winner for 2023: an exceptionally rare vehicle, one of just three completed with delightful Frua coachwork, and two that survive. The Frua Spider is widely considered to be among the most beautiful and desirable 1950s cars of all.
The wonderful A6GCS Frua Spider was conceived by Gugliemo ‘Mimmo’ Dei, the official Maserati dealer for Rome, who commissioned a small series of exquisitely coachbuilt cars based on the high-performance A6GCS platform. The A6GCS/53 – the ‘CS’ standing for ‘Corsa Sport’ – had originally been developed for the 1953 World Sports Car Championship, and featured motorsport-honed mechanicals. It featured a potent 170bhp in-line six-cylinder engine – initially developed by famed engine builder Columbo for Formula 2 racing – and a similarly race-bred, lightweight tubular chassis by Gilco. The resulting car, weighing just 740kg, was a real work of automotive art, the perfect blend of delicate spider styling, delightful handling, and potent, race-car performance.
Chassis 2110 was shipped to the United States in the late 1950s where it has remained until the present day. In the early 2000s it was subject to a painstaking restoration under the supervision of Maserati aficionado Adolfo Orsi. It’s appearance at Hampton Court represented its first ever UK appearance. A wonderful motor car and a fitting winner.