1955 Frazer Nash/DKW Prototype - EX Dundrod TT

In 1955 Frazer Nash were looking to expand their business, which was based upon a successful but small production run number of specialist sports/racing cars, such as the High Speed, Le Mans Replica, Mille Miglia, Sebring etc. For a couple of seasons they had been acting as "entrants" for DKW saloons in the Silverstone production touring car race and were agents for the DKW marque in the UK, thus had strong links with the German motor industry, being also BMW importers and having worked closely in both pre and post war years with German companies. it was Major Aldington of Frazer Nash who introduced the idea of engine production and then car production to The Bristol Aircraft Company, immediately post the Second World War, using the established BMW 6 cylinder engine as the "base".

By the mid 1950s, the company knew that they needed to diversify and so had a sleek two seater body built upon the platform of the then successful DKW Sonderklasse saloon. DKW were not offering a sporting version of their car, and it seemed to make sense to all parties. The car was dispatched for tuning to "whizz" Ken Rudd to use in Northern Ireland for the Tourist Trophy races. The car qualified well and was running like the proverbial sewing machine until its first pit stop for refueling. Legend has it that the Frazer Nash company had sent Rudd off to Ulster with only a small budget and he had recruited members of the local motor club to be his pit crew. In discussions about this car in 2006, Rudd claimed that they did not expect him to last a lap, let alone need to be ready for him to come in for a full refuelling stop. As a result, when he pulled in, they had been "On the Guiness" for a couple of hours and, were perhaps not quite as attentive as they should have been! As a result, pure racing fuel, in effect Aviation Fuel, was used to refill the tank of the 2 stroke powered car. Ken set off once again and remembered "going like the clappers of death" for a few miles until the engine seized solid due to a lack of the essentil oil-in-fuel lubrication it needed.

Thus, the car was forced to retire and Ken returned home to rue what "might have been". The Aldington family, who owned and ran Frazer Nash, were dismayed to see that, when DKW did introduce the "sports " version of the Sonderklasse, in 1957, it had a totally different body, reminiscent of a Ford Thunderbird. The little thing was pushed to the back of the works in Isleworth, just off the A4 and conveniently "forgotten about" whilst Frazer Nash became the official importers for Porsche and continue to flourish to this day. To put this project into some context - had the car run as hoped and been successful, it would have surely been put into production. Thus, an Anglo/German small, cheap, under 1 litre sports car would have been on the market in 1956 - beating the Mk I Austin Healey "Frogeye" Sprite by two years.

This example, being the only one, has led a very sheltered life, remaining with Frazer Nash for years. It was bought directly from them, sadly without its "works" number plate, and joined the significant collection from which it is being sold in 2006. It was brought back to full action at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2008, being much admired, the driver being interviewed at the Hill top paddock, being firstly asked "What on earth IS it?!" The car benefits from a light-weight - high speed starter motor provided by DKW tuning Guru Tim Bishop. It has recently been the star of a feature article written by Richard Heseltine. Given it ran in the TT in 1955, there is little reason to believe that it will not be allowed to run at Goodwood Revival, Le Mans Classic and perhaps even the Mille Miglia? Surely this is a budget entry to some of the most amazing and prestigious events accross the world?

This car has full FIA HTP papers, and would thus be prime for any and all historic events.