Chassis No. 2169

Introduced in March 1932, the Frazer Nash TT Replica, as the name suggests, replicated the cars entered for the 1931 Tourist Trophy Race. Approximately 85 of the TT Replicas were made and as with all chain-drive Frazer Nashes there were various engine/body options available, but the most popular was undoubtedly the four-cylinder Meadows engine with two-seater coachwork by either Compton, Elkington or in-house at Frazer Nash. The high-revving four-cylinder engine was set back from the front axle and allowing for sharp turn in and handling matched by a blistering performance due to the low weight. The bodies (both similar in style except for the omission of a passenger door in the Compton bodies) must go down as one of the prettiest designs of the 1930s. With the whole body sloping back from the radiator and a curved tail the overall package is a car with an incredible stance that looks fast standing still. The real beauty, of course, is that the looks are matched by the performance. With the superb power-to-weight ratio and aforementioned sharp handling, the overall package was a huge success. In the hands of the quasi-works drivers, such as Fane and Adlington, together with their loyal troop of successful privateer racers, the TT Replicas proved almost unbeatable in their class in both racing and most famously on numerous Alpine Trials.

With The Frazer Nash Car Club going from strength to strength and the cars going quicker and quicker, the "TT Reps" continue to prove themselves to this day. The overall package of a sublimely good-looking car with performance to match is hard to better. A rare car, it is thought that only 85 or so TT Replica Frazer Nashes were produced and thus original examples of this rare sportscar are highly sought after by those in the know.

This late example of the TT Replica, chassis number 2169, was, according to Denis Jenkinson's From Chain Drive to Turbo Charger, supplied to a J.L. Shiers of Cheshire in August, 1937. The registry of Frazer Nash cars printed in The Frazer Nash 1923 -1957 by David Thirlby and Tony Bancroft also notes that chassis 2169 was originally fitted with a four-cylinder overhead-valve Gough engine, engine number 7/125, a standard TT body, 12-inch brakes, finished in maroon and registered GML 178. Beyond this, the pre-war history is unknown, although there is every chance the TT Rep was employed for light competition use by the owner, as most were. Certainly, Cheshire had a very active motoring scene. The book also notes that after the war the Frazer Nash was fitted with a Meadows deflector engine. It should be noted that, as Frazer Nash used proprietary engines in their cars, engine swaps and upgrades are very commonplace with the marque. One name that stands out amongst the group of well-known chain gangers and collectors who owned "GML 178" post-war is G. A Ruddock. A garage owner and racer, Ruddock was also the co-pilot of the works entered Frazer Nash Targa Florio at Le Mans in 1954, a car recently sold by Broad Arrow. During Ruddock's ownership, this TT Rep had the distinction of being one of 11 Frazer Nash cars to compete in the Mutton Grand Prix.

While little known of the "Grand Prix" outside of the Frazer Nash Car Club, it is, by complete accident, somewhat significant in the history of British motorsport. In 1947 a group of Frazer Nash Car Club members arranged an impromptu race around the perimeter of a disused World War II Wellington Bomber airfield in Northamptonshire, called Silverstone. During the race Maurice Geoghegan unfortunately hit an errant sheep that had wandered onto the perimeter track from a neighbouring farmer's field. Sadly, both the sheep and car were written off and the race was thus named the Mutton Grand Prix, its significance being that this was most likely the first race ever held at what is now the home of the British Grand Prix. Ruddock and Smith enjoyed the use of "GML 178" in club competition during the early post-war period. From Ruddock and Smith the car passed through a known chain of owners when Peter Mimpriss acquired the car in 1996.

Chassis 2169 formed part of Peter Mimpriss' superb collection of highly original motorcars for eight years during which time the car was extensively restored by Bill Roberts, with invoices on file. In 2004 the Frazer Nash was sold via Fiskens, to Sir Clive Martin. While with Sir Clive Martin, GML 178 has benefitted from further extensive service work. The majority of the approximately £50,000 in work was carried out by Neil Twyman at The Regent Garage, complemented by re-upholstery from Robert Smith Coach Trimming and a new hood and tonneau by John Foy.

GML 178 is a splendid example of an original Frazer Nash TT Replica. Rarely do these cars come to the open market, often passing quietly between the club cognoscenti. It is eligible to compete at The Goodwood Members Meetings, Silverstone Classic, and a plethora of Vintage Sports Car Club speed events as well as The Alpine Trial, Flying Scotsman and other endurance rally events in Europe and USA. It would, of course, also be a most welcome addition to the famed "Raids" and ice-racing events organised by The Frazer Nash Car Club.