1969 Farago Pontiac CF 428: Pontiac Grand Prix in Italian Suit

This truly unique car is the one-off 1969 Farago Pontiac CF 428 concept, owned by Frank Campanale of Orchard Lake, Michigan.

The car was designed by Frank Campanale’s uncle Paul Farago in 1969 as a styling exercise and prototype for the establishment of Farago’s Coggiola coach building company. Hence the “CF” for Coggiola Farago.
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Paul Farago was a Chrysler Engineer and had supervised the construction of the Chrysler Ghia cars in the 1950’s and 60’s. He also helped design the Maserati Ghibli, which is similar in appearance to the long hood short deck design of the Farago Pontiac CF 428.
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The Farago Pontiac CF 428 was built using a 1969 Pontiac Grand Prix. The car retains much of its Pontiac Grand Prix parts including exterior tail lights, doors handles, back glass, and interior. Best of all, the car retains its Pontiac powered 428 V8 motor and drive train.




The car’s current rolling stock consists of Firestone LXX wheels and tires (which were sold as a set at Firestone dealers in the late 60’s/early 70’s). Looks like the Firestone tires were actually called LXX — LXX being Roman Numeral for “70”, and Firestone billed it as the “tire for the ’70s.”

According to a 1969 Popular Science article, the LXX “was designed with three main goals: greater safety, longer tread life, and greater handling precision with no deterioration in ride.”

The car remains in excellent condition today and has been shown at various Concours shows including the famous Meadowbrook Concours dElegance.