Frua 428 Coupé "Preserved and well-maintained" 1973 for sale

Sending a British coupe to Italy for bodywork and then fitting it with a seven-liter Ford V8 seems like the product of a development team determined to pursue three great ideas simultaneously. And that’s how the AC Frua 428 was born. The base came from AC, the British brand that had already demonstrated with the Cobra how well a lightweight car and a huge American engine could work together. For the Frua, the familiar chassis was lengthened and then sent to Italy, where Pietro Frua designed an entirely new body around it. No longer an open sports car, but a large, fast, and extraordinarily exclusive grand tourer. We like it. The first open version was unveiled in the mid-1960s, followed not long after by the Coupe. And perhaps it was this closed version that received the most distinctive lines of all. A long hood, a low cockpit, and a rear that seems to drop almost abruptly. Elegant from some angles. From others, not at all. A Frua design is not for everyone. Some people get it immediately, while others have to walk around the car three times before they see it. But one thing is for sure: no one simply ignores it. Under the hood is the 428 cubic inch Ford V8 from which the model takes its name. In metric terms, that means about seven liters of displacement. It’s not a small engine that needs high revs before anything happens, but a vast powerplant that makes clear right from the start how much reserve is available. The AC Frua was fast. Seriously fast. Contemporary road tests recorded acceleration figures that remain impressive even today. And all this in a luxury coupe from the 1960s, with an interior clearly designed more for long-distance travel than for chasing lap times. This example dates back to 1973 and is equipped with the optional automatic transmission. This fits perfectly with the character of the Frua. There’s no need to constantly shift to gain speed. The V8 takes care of that effortlessly. The chrome wire wheels are also present and give the car just the right look. Not too sporty, not too traditional, but just right for a British-American grand tourer styled in Italy. The body was originally finished in Wedgewood Blue, but now wears Ruby Red. It’s a warm, deep hue that beautifully complements the wide rear fenders, the long hood, and the generous chrome. The Frua has been carefully preserved and well-maintained by its owners. More recently, the car has been fully inspected and serviced, and now presents itself in attractive and well-kept condition. And then there’s that little detail of its past. A previous owner sold the AC to buy a Lamborghini Miura. This naturally says something about the Miura. But perhaps it says even more about the kind of automobile that this Frua once had to make way for. A 1973 AC Frua 428 Coupe finished in Ruby Red, equipped with automatic transmission and chrome wire wheels, and recently fully inspected and serviced. Italian in line. British in origin. American at heart. Some combinations need no explanation. This is one of those cars. What an impressive machine. We export our vehicles worldwide; please inquire about available options.