Frazer Nash Targa Florio Gran Sport
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Car producer : |
Frazer Nash |
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Model: |
Targa Florio Gran Sport |
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Year: |
1952-1954 |
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Type: |
Roadster |
Frazer Nash is a British sports car manufacturer and engineering company founded by Archibald Frazer-Nash in 1922. It produced sports cars incorporating a unique multi-chain transmission before the Second World War and also imported BMW cars to the UK. After the war it continued producing sports cars with conventional transmission until 1957. It also continued selling BMW cars and motorcycles and finally in 1956 became the official importer of Porsche cars.
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, Middlesex 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 1929 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. The company produced around 400 of the famous chain drive models between 1924 and 1939.
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. 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 (1949) and wins in the Targa Florio (1951) and the 12 Hours of Sebring, 1952. The 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.
Only 15 Frazer Nash Targa Florios made, this particular car is arguably the most important, having been raced at the 1953 Sebring 12 Hours endurance classic by the Briggs Cunningham team. The model was named in honour of Franco Cortese's famous victory in the 1951 running of the eponymous Sicilian long-distance classic driving a Frazer Nash Le Mans Replica, the only occasion a British manufacturer won the race. It is worth noting that the Le Mans Replica was so called following the 3rd place overall achieved at the eponymous French endurance classic in 1949 by a High Speed model.
Introduced in 1952, the Targa Florio replaced the Mille Miglia model and used the new parallel-tube chassis frame around which was wrapped a beautiful full-width alloy body. The chassis boasted rack-and-pinion steering, torsion bar rear suspension and twin-leading-shoe brakes, while the 1,971cc six-cylinder Bristol engine came in either Gran Sport (120bhp) or Turismo (100bhp) variants, either of which was good for 110mph-plus. One car fitted with Austin Atlantic engine. Last 5 cars were open versions of Le Mans Coupé.Production 1952-1954.
