The great Le Mans winning sports racing cars of the 1950s, marques like Ferrari, Aston Martin and Jaguar, marked an era of sports cars that were exceptional on both road and track. One other such marque was Frazer Nash with their Le Mans Replica. With a Bristol 100D six cylinder engine, simple chassis and light body, they have always been considered one of the most versatile road & race cars of their era. Named in honour Norman Culpin’s success at Le Mans, the model notched up nearly 50 wins and over 40 seconds in a racing career spanning nine years. However, with only 85 examples built between 1948 and 1957 (a number only slightly higher than the production figures of the D-Type Jaguar) today they are a rare car.
In the 1970s, specialist Crosthwaite & Gardiner built around seven recreations of the famous Frazer Nash Le Mans Rep. Today, their engineering excellence is globally renowned, notably having restored and recreated numerous Auto-Unions, so it is no great surprise that these Rep Reps were built to an exacting standard. Constructed alongside an original car to ensure their accuracy, they were of course powered by the marvellous Bristol 100 six cylinder. This is one of those cars.
Sitting on alloy rimmed painted wire wheels, it uses the correct Austin axles as found on the later original Le Mans Reps. Attention to detail is also found in the 100/4 brake drums and the alloy dif housing, utilising a good choice of ratios ideal for road use. The engine was recently rebuilt by CKL Engineering. Breathing through correct triple Solex carburettors, it includes as a steel big nose crank, Carillo Rods, Cosworth pistons and lightened flywheel. Producing an estimated 140bhp, it’s a competitive engine that’s also tractable on the road.
During the 1980s it was owned by Alan Dunkerley, a keen member of the VSCC and owner of multiple Frazer Nash cars, sharing a garage with a Frazer Nash Boulogne and Vauxhall 30/98, amongst others. More recently, it was owned by Ted Parkinson who enjoyed it for many years. Ted covered many miles, occasionally competing in it and driving all over Europe. The current owner bought it off Ted, and committed it to extensive restoration work at CKL Engineering, the bills for which are on file. They refreshed all the significant mechanical components, bringing it to its current fabulous state. More recently, Hawker Racing has invested a lot of time setting the car up to handle beautifully.
Finished in Black with a red leather interior, the Frazer Nash is eligible for a wealth of important historic events.
