Frazer Nash

Frazer Nash was a British automobile manufacturer and engineering company founded by Archibald Frazer-Nash in 1922. Frazer Nash should not be confused with the unrelated companies Kaiser-Frazer and Nash Motors.

History

The company was founded in 1922 by Archibald Frazer-Nash who had, with Henry Ronald Godfrey founded and run the GN Cyclecar Company. The company was established in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, moving to Isleworth, London in 1929. The company entered receivership in 1927 and re-emerged as AFN Limited. The majority of AFN was acquired by H. J. ("Aldy") Aldington in 1932 and run by the three Aldington brothers, H.J., Donald A. and William H. Aldy's son, John Taylor ("JT") Aldington was the last of the family owners/directors until AFN Ltd was sold to Porsche GB.

In 1929, Nash & Thomson was formed by Frazer-Nash and Godfrey to develop the Frazer-Nash hydraulic aircraft turret

The company produced around 400 cars until the mid-1930s, notably a series of famous chain drive models.

They became importers and assemblers of BMW cars in 1934 and sold them as Frazer Nash-BMW. They were the official British BMW importer until the outbreak of war in 1939. In 1954 the company started to sell Porsche cars, becoming the official importer for Great Britain in 1956. This lasted until 1965 when Porsche Cars Great Britain was set up; Aldington family members remained on the board of this company for some time.

During World War II, the company was involved in armaments production.

Eighty-five more cars were produced from 1948 to 1957. These cars were entirely unrelated to the chain-drive pre-war Frazer Nash, but were largely a direct evolution of the sporting BMW 328, mentioned above. In the choice of Bristol engines the cars were natural successors to the imported BMWs, the Bristol engine being a development of that of the BMW 328. Models include the "Le Mans Replica", the "Mille Miglia", the "Targa Florio", the "Le Mans Coupé" and the "Sebring". Competition successes included a third place at Le Mans (1949) and a win in the Targa Florio (1951). These post-war cars are very highly prized by collectors. The company participated in the 1952 Formula One season, the cars driven by Tony Crook and Ken Wharton.

There are several successor companies still (as of 2007) active in engineering consultancy (Frazer-Nash Consultancy) and electric vehicle design (Frazer-Nash Research).

Products

Car models

Considering the small number of cars made, the model range is vast and the following is not entirely comprehensive. Cars were all built to order and virtually any combination was possible. Some were rebuilt at the factory as different versions.

Grand Prix

Frazer Nash participated in 4 World Championship Grands Prix, entering a total of 4 cars. They scored 3 championship points.

(Note: Grand Prix in bold denote points scoring races.)

External links

* [http://www.frazernash.co.uk Official website of the Frazer Nash Car Club]
* [http://www.fnc.co.uk Frazer-Nash Consultancy]
* [http://www.frazernash-usa.com The Postwar Frazer Nash Cars - An Overview]
* [http://www.frazer-nash.com Frazer-Nash Research - Electric and Hybrid Vehicles]

References

* "From Chain-Drive to Turbocharger: The A.F.N. Story" by Denis Jenkinson, Patrick Stephens Limited, 1984 ISBN 0-85059-631-9