Frazer Nash was a brand of British

sports car A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...

manufactured from 1922 first by Frazer Nash Limited founded by engineer

Archibald Frazer-Nash Archibald Goodman Frazer Nash (30 June 1889 – 10 March 1965), was an early English motor car designer, engineer, and inventor who specialised in manufacturer of light "cycle cars" and sports cars in England. Nash added his third name Frazer ...

. On its financial collapse in 1927 a new company, AFN Limited, was incorporated. Control of AFN passed to Harold John Aldington in 1929. Until the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

AFN continued to produce a small number of sports cars badged Frazer Nash incorporating a unique multi-chain transmission. It continued after the war making another 85 sports cars before ending manufacture in 1957. The post-war cars had conventional transmissions. UK agents for BMW arranged coachwork and made modifications, including badging the cars "Frazer Nash BMW". Control of AFN Limited, UK agents for Porsche, passed from the Aldington family to Porsche in 1987. FrazerNash badge

History

Archie Nash

Frazer Nash Limited's businessNash cars by

Nash Motors Nash Motors Company was an American automobile manufacturer based in Kenosha, Wisconsin from 1916 to 1937. From 1937 to 1954, Nash Motors was the automotive division of the Nash-Kelvinator Corporation. Nash production continued from 1954 to 195 ...

of Wisconsin were sold from their showroom at 199

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road that connects central London to Hammersmith, Earl's Court, ...

and other dealers was founded in 1922 by Archie Nash. Nash with friend Ron Godfrey had founded and run the GN cyclecar company in 1909 but their partnership split in 1922 and Nash began making his own cars by buying GN components and adding a new body. His new business's activities were centred on

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

. The first true Frazer Nash was made in 1924. However, Nash, a clever engineer and designer, seemed unable to run a business at a profit. Shareholders in this period even included author

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...

. Eventually the faltering business was sold to a new company, AFN Limited, formed in 1927. Profitability did not improve and, with effect from 1 January 1929, H J Aldington was made managing director and Nash was given the post of 'technical adviser'.Jenkinson, Denis.''From Chain-Drive to Turbocharger: The A.F.N. Story''. London: Patrick Stephens Limited, 1984. . Archie Nash managed to keep a small shareholding and as if to confirm the link in 1938 hyphenated his second name to his surname and became Archie Frazer-Nash.

Aldington brothers

During 1929 a majority of AFN's capital was acquired by Harold Joseph ("Aldy") Aldington (1902-1976) and AFN's operations moved to

Isleworth Isleworth ( ) is a town located within the London Borough of Hounslow in West London, England. It lies immediately east of the town of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane, London, River Crane. Isleworth's or ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

. Thereafter, the business was run by the three Aldington brothers: Aldy, Don and Bill. The other two were Donald Arthur Aldington (1907-1997) and William Henry Aldington (1900-1980). They were all usually referred to by their initials. Frazer Nash and subsequently AFN produced around 350 of the famous

chain drive Chain drive is a way of transmitting mechanical power from one place to another. It is often used to convey power to the wheels of a vehicle, particularly bicycles and motorcycles. It is also used in a wide variety of machines besides vehicles. ...

models between 1924 and 1939. The last of the family owners/directors was Aldy's son, John Taylor ("JT") Aldington, who sold AFN Ltd to Porsche GB in 1987.

Frazer Nash BMW

Bristol BMW

In 1946 at the 36th Ordinary General Meeting of the Bristol Aeroplane Company it was announced that its Engine Division had acquired the majority of the shares in AFN Ltd. AFN Ltd produced about 85 more cars 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. Bristol 400 engine

AFN, as owners of the UK rights to the 328 engine, licensed Bristol to make it against an agreement for its supply to them. 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 Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...

(1949) and wins in the

Targa Florio The Targa Florio was a public road endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily near the island's capital of Palermo. Founded in 1906, it was the oldest sports car racing event, part of the World Sportscar Championship between 1955 ...

in 1951 and the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1952. The post-war cars are very highly prized by collectors.

Formula 2 Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009–2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name re ...

cars produced by the company contested various races including four Grand Prix events counting towards the 1952 World Championship of Drivers. The cars were driven by Tony Crook and

Ken Wharton Frederick Charles Kenneth Wharton (21 March 1916 – 12 January 1957) was a British racing driver from Smethwick, England. He competed in off-road trials, hillclimbs, and rallying, and also raced sports cars and single-seaters. He began racing ...

Porsche

In 1954 AFN Limited added 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 until John Aldington sold out to Porsche in 1987.

Post War Weapons and Multi Market Engineering until now

Within the 1950s weapons technology grew into a major factor of the company's operations. With the well tuned joining of several company parts in the year 1971 the still today existing unit of "Frazer-Nash Consultancy" was born. This one moved trough multiple hands over time and under the hood of various owners Besitzer: 1990 had a management buyout, 2004 it was moved to Devonport Management Limited which soon got acquired by Babcock International Group plc., 2021 it was taken over by KBR. Starting in 2010 the company opened multiple development and office locations in Australia. For summer 2022 a total staff of about 1000 employees is reported by the web pages of the company. Furthermore a revenue of 101 Million Britisch Pounds (once equal to 186 Million Australian Dollars) for the fiscal year of 2020/2021 got reported.

Products

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.

Pre-war models

1933 Frazer-Nash Colmore (4739060266) (cropped)

1934 Frazer Nash TT Replica Kop Hill Climb 2010 5029349568

Post-war models

Frazer Nash Targa Florio at Prescott Hillclimb

1955 Frazer Nash DKW prototype (6036089692)

Frazer Nash Le Mans coupé Classic-Gala 2022 1X7A0007

Complete World Championship of Drivers results

Frazer Nash cars participated in four Grands Prix counting towards the World Championship of Drivers. Drivers of Frazer Nash cars scored 3 World Championship points. All Grand Prix races counting towards the 1952 World Championship were restricted to

Formula Two Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009– 2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name ...

cars. (

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

)

World Sportscar Championship

Frazer Nash placed equal 13th in the 1953 World Sportscar Championship with a Le Mans model having finished sixth in the

1953 RAC Tourist Trophy The 1953 RAC Tourist Trophy was a motor race for sports cars, held on 5 September 1953 at the Dundrod Circuit in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It was the sixth round of the 1953 World Sportscar Championship, held just six days after the previous ...

.World Championship 1953, www.classicscars.com
Retrieved 29 November 2016

Notes

References

Bibliography

* Tarring, Trevor and Mark Joseland. ''Archie Frazer-Nash ... Engineer''. London: The Frazer Nash Archives, 2011. . * Thirlby, David A. ''The Chain-Drive Frazer Nash''. London: MacDonald & Co. Ltd, 1965. * Thirlby, David A. ''Frazer Nash''. London: The Haynes Publishing Group, 1977. .

External links

Official website of the Frazer Nash Car ClubThe Postwar Frazer Nash Cars - An Overview
{{Automotive industry in the United Kingdom Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of England Formula One constructors Formula One entrants British auto racing teams British racecar constructors Auto racing teams established in 1952 Auto racing teams disestablished in 1953 Sports car manufacturers