Opel Diplomat CD Frua Coupé - Grandezza with eight cylinders

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Opel Diplomat CD Frua Coupé - Grandezza with eight cylinders

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Created on April 3, 2020

Text:

Stefan Dierkes

Photos:

Bruno von Rotz

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Pietro Frua; Archiv Roberto Rigoli, Frua-Familie, Turin

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Foresa, Barcelona (E), Archiv Fira de Barcelona

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Archiv Opel / General Motors

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Andreas Schey, Düsseldorf

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Archiv

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Opel Diplomat CD Frua Coupé (1970) - Silhouette

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Opel Diplomat CD Frua Coupé (1970) - the first of the two coupés, today in red

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Opel Diplomat CD Frua Coupé (1970) - the headlights can no longer be lowered

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Opel Diplomat CD Frua Coupé (1970) - visually close to the later Bitter CD

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Opel Diplomat CD Frua Coupé (1970) - (almost) unique Opel coupé

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Opel Diplomat CD Frua Coupé (1970) - Air vents

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Opel Diplomat CD Frua Coupé (1970) - clear statement of the technical basis

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Opel Diplomat CD Frua Coupé (1970) - lettering on the rear

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Opel Admiral Coupé 'Diplomat Special' (1970) - Opel coupé by Pietro Frua with a misleading name

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Opel Admiral Frua Coupé 'Diplomat Special' (1969) - only two-door coupé body based on the new Opel Diplomat, interior in Skai and suede - Geneva Motor Show 1969

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Opel Admiral Frua Coupé 'Diplomat Special' (1969) - raised dashboard for better visibility - Geneva Motor Show 1969

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Opel Diplomat (1969) - with the popular vinyl roof

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Opel Diplomat (1969) - also available with 5.4-liter V8 engine

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Opel Diplomat (1969) - De Dion rear axle - Geneva Motor Show 1969

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Opel CD (1969) - 1 to 5 wind tunnel model

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Opel CD (1969) - Experimental car, side view, left

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Opel CD (1969) - elegant design with retractable dome

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Opel CD (1969) - transparent model shows the construction method

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Opel CD (1969) - generously glazed, rear view

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Opel CD (1969) - Concept car without doors

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Opel CD (1969) - Opel chief designer Charles M. "Chuck" Jordan presents the concept car

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Opel CD (1969) - simple elegance without distracting elements

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Opel CD (1969) - Coupé based on the Diplomat as the star of the IAA - International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt 1969

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Opel CD (1969) - Steering wheel and dashboard - International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt 1969

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Opel CD (1969) - transparent concept car at the 1970 Geneva Motor Show

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Opel Diplomat CD Frua Coupé (1970) - taken in Via Papa Giovanni (opposite the Studio Tecnico Pietro Frua) in the Turin suburb of Moncalieri

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Opel Diplomat CD Frua Coupé (1970) - taken in Via Papa Giovanni (opposite the Studio Tecnico Pietro Frua) in the Turin suburb of Moncalieri

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Opel Diplomat CD Frua Coupé (1970) - Opel designer Karl-Heinz Wedel photographs the coupé in 1970 at the pick-up in Via Papa Giovanni (opposite Studio Tecnico Pietro Frua) in the Turin suburb of Moncalieri

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Opel Diplomat-Coupé-Frua (1971) - side view of the first prototype - the similarity to the Bitter CD is obvious

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Opel Diplomat CD Coupé Frua (1970) - rear view of the prototype, which anticipated essential elements of the Bitter CD

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Opel Diplomat CD Coupé (1970) - the ideas later gave rise to the Bitter, Pietro Frua did a great job here - Geneva Motor Show 1970

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Opel Diplomat CD Frua (1970) - sports car built by Frua based on the Opel Diplomat, exhibited at the 1970 Geneva Motor Show

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Opel Diplomat CD Frua Coupé (1970) - the second coupé at the "Desfile de Elegancia en Automovil" of the 1974 Barcelona Motor Show

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Opel Diplomat CD Frua (1970) - View of the interior of the blue coupé (taken in the nineties)

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Bitter Diplomat CD (1973) - The new coupé based on the Opel was to cost DM 50,000 - International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt 1973

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Summary

In 1969, Opel presented a styling study called the Opel CD at the IAA, which was a long way from series production. Nevertheless, the positive response motivated those responsible at Opel to commission Pietro Frua to create a version closer to series production. The result was the Opel Gran Turismo HS V8 coupé, sometimes also known as the Coupé Diplomat Frua or CD Frua. Unfortunately, this model was also subsequently denied series production, but the basic lines and many ideas of the Bitter CD were eventually built several hundred times in Germany. This article describes the history of the two Frua coupés built on the basis of the Opel Diplomat and shows the cars in historical and modern pictures.

This article contains the following chapters

Jordan's futuristic Opel CD
The silver Frua CD
The blue Frua CD
Series production as the Bitter CD
Further information

Estimated reading time: 4min

Preview (beginning of the article)

After collaborating with Turin designer Pietro Frua on the Opel Kadett A Spider ( 1964) and the Opel Admiral B Coupé (1969), known as the "Diplomat Special", Opel realized that the Italians not only showed remarkable qualities in design, but also in prototype construction. Nowhere else could you have a fully functional prototype built in such a short time with just a drawing in hand. The prices were astonishingly low, at ten times the price of a production vehicle. It was not possible to produce a one-off in Germany for this, and even for the lone fighter Frua it was probably more of a profit-making business in many cases. However, he was more interested in the opportunity to participate in the commercial success of his designs in the event of series production.

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