Sam Krahn 
What if the Chevrolet Camaro was made in Italy, or at least had European styling instead of the American brawn we are used to? If we’re talking second generation Camaro, it would look something like this: the 1976 Chevrolet Camaro Europo Hurst. It’s a one-off creation made by Pietro Frua, an Italian coach builder and car designer who penned one-off Maserati, Rolls Royce, Jaguar and other specialty builds. This very Frua Chevrolet Camaro is going up for auction at RM Sotheby’s online auction running from September 16-25.
The styling is radically different from a regular second-generation Camaro, with quad headlights at a more pointy front end, and a sloping fastback made almost entirely of glass. The hard shoulder line runs all the way from the headlights to taillights, elongating the proportions and giving it a sense of elegance no other Camaro has.
That’s not to say it’s a truly beautiful car, though. It definitely has 1970s design language, and not all cars of that era have aged particularly well. The oddest part is the rear end, with lots of strange cuts, angles and black trim pieces. Eagle eyed readers will also notice it has Pontiac Firebird taillights.
Under the long hood, the Frua Chevrolet Camaro is the same as any other 1976 Camaro. That means it got the larger 350-cubic-inch small block V8, pushing out a mighty 165 hp. This was the ’70s, after all.
Frua didn’t bother messing with the interior much, either. It looks just like a regular Camaro of the same vintage, just with different seats, a unique color scheme, and the all-important Frua badge on the steering wheel.
While it’s certainly an interesting design, it was probably smart for GM to stick with good ‘ol American styling for their signature muscle car. But if you have a penchant for one of the weirdest and rarest muscle cars ever made, this Frua Camaro is for you. As mentioned, it’s going up for auction with RM Sotheby in September as part of the Mitosinka Collection. It’s expected to sell between $80,000 and $120,000. Not bad for a one-of-one Camaro.
