Details

Parent Category: F

Category: Frazer Nash

Frazer Nash Mille Miglia

Manufacturer	Frazer Nash
Production	1948 to 1953
Class	Sports/race car
Layout	Front engine, rear drive
Engine	Six-cylinders
Transmission	Four-speed manual
Wheelbase	8 ft.
Length	12 ft. 6 ins.
Width	4 ft. 10 ins.
Height	2 ft. 11 1/2 ins.

 

The Frazer Nash Mille Miglia was a Post war Six-cylinder race and sports car-built in England, from 1948 to 1953.                                               

History

By the end of the 2nd world war, Frazer Nash stopped building cars altogether, for their import concession of BMW sports cars was proving to be more profitable. However, an entirely new start was made post war. The post-war Frazer Nash cars, BMW link was so strong at first that the 1947 prototype bore an astonishingly close resemblance to the full-width sports racing BMWs which appeared in the 1940 Coppa Brescia race; the reason was simple it was one of these cars.

The chassis design was to Fiedler's credit, and in 1947 he was also responsible for the true Frazer Nash chassis design which followed. Production began in 1948, with two basic models, the stark 'cigar-shape' High Speed model, which was later renamed the Competition, and even later renamed as the Le Mans Replica, and with the full-width Fast Tourer model, which was rather less powerful, and rather better equipped to withstand assault from wind and rain. The use of the cigar-shaped car, complete with its cycle-type wings, in racing, brought all sorts of success, not least at Le Mans in 1949, where one of the cars, driven by Norman Culpan and one of the Aldington family finished third overall. It was world-wide competition success which led to the naming of new derivatives of the same basic chassis as the Mille Miglia model.

The Mille Miglia model, with similar parts, but carrying on an underslung chassis with coachwork built on light steel framing, with light-alloy skin panelling has a full-width body enclosing the wheels, especially suited to races in which maximum speed is more important than acceleration. Engines built to Frazer-Nash specification by the Bristol Aeroplane Co. Ltd. came available in various states of tune for race use with Compression ratios between 7.5 and 9 to 1 and higher revving 5,500 r.p.m. race engines; Typically, 110 to 120 bhp with three down-draught carburettors. All are 2-litre six-cylinder units, of 66-mm. by 96-mm. bore and stroke, with inclined overhead valves and single camshaft by push-rods and rocker. The competition engines also incorporate magnesium-alloy sump and separate external oil cooler.

The basis of every Frazer-Nash model is a chassis of large-diameter steel tubes, welded-in tubular cross-members contributing to vital rigidity. From the front suspension-mounting frame to cross-tubes ahead of the rear axle. The Mille Miglia chassis have underslung tubular frame extensions passing below the rear-axle beam, braced by a framework of tubes passing over the axle. Independent front-wheel suspension is by light wishbones locating the base of each kingpin, a transverse leaf spring set above the wishbones to locate the top of each kingpin, hydraulic shock-absorbers are connected between the frame and each wishbone. rigid rear axles, employing torsion-bar and springs. 

The car is Front engine, rear drive and has a four-speed manual gearbox and Spiral bevel final drive. The competition models have closer ratios in the four-speed gearbox. Fitted with Lockheed hydraulic brake system with large 11-in. drums and 16-in single-nut disc type Wheels.