One of the prettiest Bimmers of all time wasn’t even originally a BMW. In the early 1960s, the German automaker Glas was building some very lovely looking sporty GT cars, like the 1300 GT and 1700 GT. In 1966 BMW bought Glas and rebadged its cars with blue and white Roundels. The plucky GT was then fitted with 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine from the BMW 1600 and was then called the BMW 1600 GT. Only around 1200 BMW-badged 1600 GTs were made, which makes this 1967 model that was just on Bring a Trailer quite rare (it didn’t hit reserve at $102,000). Making this specific one it even rarer is the fact that it was said to be built by Italian coachbuilder Pietro Frua, using parts bought from BMW and then painted in a unique “Frua Green.”
Source: Bring a Trailer
Pietro Frua was the man who actually penned the original Glas GT coupe, and it was built by Italian coachbuilder Maggiora. So when Frua acquired parts from BMW to have his own unique car built, it was sort of like he was reclaiming his own car. But since it wasn’t officially built by BMW, it didn’t originally have a chassis number. After Frua died in 1983, his widow sold the car to a German collector who had BMW put a chassis plate on it, giving it the number W001001, even though there was a 1600 GT already with that number. You can see the plate in the photos, and the documentation from BMW.
A normal BMW 1600 GT is already a gorgeous car, but this Frua Green one might be the prettiest of them all. Aside from the color, though, it’s mechanically identical to any other 1600 GT. It still has BMW’s M10 four-cylinder, making 118 horsepower and 97 lb-ft of torque, and it still has a four-speed manual that drives the rear wheels. While the black interior isn’t anything special looking, it’s still lovely. I actually really love the combination of a bright, unique exterior color and a calm, simple interior. Interestingly, there’s an interior badge that reads “GLAS,” as if to say it used to be a Glas.
Source: Bring a Trailer
Frua’s 1600 GT only has around 6000 miles on the clock, around 5000 of which were put on by Frua himself in Italy. The car exchanged hands a few times after Frua’s death, and now resides in the U.S. with a Montana title, though few miles were put on the car since Frua’s ownership. Whoever buys this car is getting one of the most unique BMW-badged vehicles on the planet. Not only is the model rare but this is truly a one-of-one car, built and owned by the original designer of the car himself, and painted in a color that only other Frua-commissioned cars have ever worn.
