1954 Frazer Nash Le Mans Replica

Lot details
Registration No: OUG 2
Chassis No: 421/200/209
Mot Expiry: Oct 2013

It was in 1922 that Archibald Frazer Nash left GN, the company he had co-founded with Henry Godfrey, and established his own eponymous venture in Kingston upon Thames. The initial chain drive offerings were a logical development of the GN models. However, within five years the business was in trouble and entered receivership, re-emerging as AFN Ltd. By 1929, H. J. Aldington had become its major shareholder and was running the company with his brothers Donald and William. During 1934 it became the UK importer and assembler of the BMW marque, the results of which were sold as Frazer Nash-BMWs. Following WWII, the company created a number of new models including the High Speed, Mille Miglia, Targa Florio, Le Mans Coupe and the Sebring, all of which were in essence evolutions of the BMW 328. As its name suggests, the High Speed was a no-nonsense lightweight competition version that featured minimal bodywork and cycle wings. It was powered by the 1971cc straight-six BMW unit that had been developed by Bristol under licence from AFN. This was mated to a Bristol four-speed manual gearbox. Suspension was independent at the front by transverse leaf spring and by live axle and torsion bars at the rear. With some 125bhp powering a two-seater of just 635kg, the performance was predictably impressive, and the High Speed was capable of achieving the 0-60mph sprint in around 8.8 seconds and powering on to a terminal speed of some 110mph.

It was a High Speed that AFN entered for the first post-WW2 Le Mans 24 Hours race, which was held in 1949. The result was memorable, with H. J. Aldington and co-driver Norman Culpan finishing a magnificent third overall. This prompted the company to rebrand the High Speed as a Le Mans Replica - thereby resurrecting nomenclature from its past. Lightweight, agile and quick, the model's wonderfully neutral / adjustable handling allowed it to embarrass far more powerful machinery. Driven by a veritable Who's Who of British motorsport talent including: (Sir) Stirling Moss, Roy Salvadori, Tony Brooks and Tony Crook of Bristol Cars fame, Le Mans Replicas were a familiar sight at the likes of Silverstone, Goodwood and Aintree; whilst also contesting events further afield such as the Mille Miglia, Targa Florio and Le Mans 24-hours. Bearing in mind total High Speed/Le Mans Replica production amounted to just 34 cars, it is little surprise that survivors are now so highly sought after by collectors.

The rare example now offered for sale has a notably interesting and well documented history. According to the register of post-war Frazer Nash cars, FN209 was constructed in 1954 as a standard 200-series parallel tube chassis, complete with the usual leaf-spring front suspension, Austin rear axle, adjustable rear torsion bars, steel-rimmed centre-lock wire wheels and cast iron brake drums. It was apparently initially fitted with Bristol engine number BS4/412, which was located well back in the chassis as per the Sebring models FN201 and FN207. However this was subsequently removed along with its other components and the bare chassis stored at the factory until the late 1960s, at which point AFN passed it (along with all other remaining post war spares) to Betty Haig and the Frazer Nash Club. It was not until c.1975, when FN209 was sold to Simon Phillips via Cleobury Garages, that it was finally built into a complete car.

This task was undertaken by Crosthwaite & Gardiner who installed a BS4 engine with six-port cylinder head and triple twin-choke carburettors, and equipped the car with front discs, and de Dion rear axle with inboard rear brakes. The lightweight body was the one originally built for Jack Walton's Le Mans Replica FN157, which Phillips had seen advertised for £70. The build was completed in 1976 and the resulting Le Mans Replica registered 'OUG 2' (interestingly, the first number plate worn by FN157 was 'OUG 3'). Phillips then campaigned the car with success during the 1976/1977 seasons before offering it for sale. The purchaser was Tim Walton (the son of Jack) who proceeded to compete with the car during 1981.

That same year, Walton was able to purchase the original and complete MKII body previously worn by James Lowe's chassis FN183. This was transferred to FN209 by Bill Roberts in 1982, following which Walton returned to the tracks and competed in, among other events, the 1987 Mille Miglia and 1988 Coppa d'Italia before offering the car for sale in 1992. Michael Johnson was the next keeper who also contested the Mille Miglia, as well as the FIVA World Rally and Pyrenees Rally, before the car's title passed to Howard Dyer via Gregor Fisken in 1997. It was from Dyer that the vendor acquired 'OUG 2' in March 2011, just three months after £5,215 had been invested in the car with Blakeney Motorsport - the work comprising an extensive mix of servicing, repairs and general recommissioning.

Having returned this delightful and historically important Frazer Nash to Blakeney Motorsport for a further £50,000 worth of fettling, the vendor informs us that it has covered just 1,262 miles in the last 13 years. Following a recent bare metal respray, he currently classes the bodywork as "excellent" and the interior trim, six-cylinder engine and four-speed manual gearbox as "very good". 'OUG 2' represents a rare opportunity for Frazer Nash aficionados worldwide.

PLEASE NOTE: This vehicle has an MOT until October 2013.