74 |JaguarWorld/July 2019
HISTORY
FRUAS-TYPE
Bythemid-Sixties,Jaguar’srangeof
saloonswasasconfusingasitwaslarge.
Alongwiththegoliath420G,therewas
theMk2,theS-type(aMk2withalonger
bootandindependentrearsuspension)and
the 420 (theS-typewithfourheadlights
anduprightgrilletreatment,similartothe
420G).Plentyofchoice,then,butnothing
tobridgethegapbetweenthefour-doors
andtheE-type–acarthatcouldalsorival
thelargetwo-doorcoupesthatItalywas
producingatthetime,suchastheLancia
FlaminiaorMaseratiSebring.
Whiletheideaofsuchamodeldidnot
occurtoJaguar,ithadelsewhere,namelyin
Italy,thehomeofexclusiveandstylishcars.
TheTurin-basedstylistandcoachbuilderPietro
Fruadecidedtocreateatwo-doorJaguar
saloonforhisstandatthe 1966 Genevamotor
show,acarthathehopedwouldleadtoorders
fromindividualcustomers.
FruawasborninTurinin 1913 andbegan
hiscareeratStabilimentiFarinain 19 30,
asadraughtsman.Fiveyearslater,hewas
directorofstyling,butleftthecompanyin
1938 tosetuphisowndesignhouse–ayear
beforetheoutbreakofWW2(1939-1945).
Hesawoutthehostilitiesbydesigning
children’scars,electricovensandkitchens.
Frua’sfirstpost-warcarwasthe 1946
Fiat 11 00C;thenextwasthestunning
MaseratiA6G.DespitethelittleFrua
becomingtheItalianmanufacturer’s
favouredcarrozzerie,Pietrosoldhis
companytoGhiain 1957 ,stayingasits
headofdesign.However,anargumentwith
GhiadirectorLuigiSegreoverthepaternity
oftheRenaultFlorideledtoFrualeaving.
Hebecameoneofthemostprominent
Italiandesignersoftheera,working
withGlas,MaseratiandAC,plus
CarrosserieItalsuisseinGeneva.He
alsodesignedandbuiltmorethan 200
prototypesbasedoncarsfromseveral
majorEuropeancarmanufacturers,
includingAlfaRomeo,BMW,Citroën
andFord,plusdesignedaone-offJaguar-
saloon-basedcoupe.InDecember 19 65,Jaguardispatched
aleft-hand-driveS-type3.8rollingchassis
(1B78869DN)toFrua’sTurinworkshop.
Themodelwastheperfectchoiceto
transformintoasportingcoupebecause
itsindependentrearsuspensionoffereda
betterridethantheharder,overlysporting,
Mk2anditscompactsizeallowedfornicer
proportionsthantheenormous420G.
Unlikesomeshowcars,however,when
Frua’sS-typewasrevealeditwasn’tan
unfinishedstylingexercise.Theall-steelbody
wasaself-supportingmonocoquewithnew
frontandrearsubframes,whiletheinteriorwas
trimmedtoahigherstandard.Itwasarunner,
too,Fruastayingwiththe3.8-litreengine.
Itwasn’tsimplyalackofdoorsthat
madethecoupesodifferenttothedonor
model:itwasthelong,angularlines.Wide
andsquare,thenosewasthepolaropposite
fromtheoriginalovalgrilledesign,giving
itamoremodernappearance.Incredibly,
thecarwasfinishedinjustthreemonths,in
timeforitsdebutatGeneva.BERTONEFT 420 COUPE
Fruawasn’ttheonlyindependentdesignertohavehad
theideaofatwo-doorJaguarcoupe.Thecompany’s
Italianimporter,GiorgioTarchini,commissioned
CarrozzeriaBertonetobuilditsownfour-seatercoupe,
thisonebeingbasedonthe 420 .Themanresponsible
wasMarcelloGandini,whohadonlyrecentlyjoined
Bertoneandwentontodesignsomeofthegreatest
Italiansupercarsevermade,includingtheAlfaRomeo
Montreal,LamborghiniMiura,LanciaStratosand
MaseratiKhamsin.
Bycoincidence,thecarwasalsorevealedatthe 1966
Genevashowand,althoughitfeaturedsimilarlylong,
angularlinesastheFrua,ithadaproperJaguar-style
grillethatgaveitsomefamilyidentity.
Tarchiniplannedtoputthecar–namedFTafter
theimportingfirm’sfounder,Ferruccio–intolimited
production,buyingsevenchassisfromJaguar.However,
otherthanthe 1966 showcar(whichremainedwiththe
Tarchinifamilyuntil 20 14,whenitwassoldatauction
for£ 52 ,791)onlyoneotherexamplewasbuilt.ThatonewasdeliveredtoawealthycustomerinMadridin1966,
whereitstayeduntilthesecondownerdiscoveredthe
carlanguishinginanoldgarage.
Afteragainbeingsoldatauction–in2 01 2,for£ 78 ,1 71
–ithassubsequentlybeenrestoredandiscurrentlyfor
salethroughaFrenchclassiccarspecialist.