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Post by jager on Feb 3, 2023 7:51:49 GMT -5
Like others, its time to kick off a new thread for the new year.
Frazer Nash were an active Le Mans participant post war, entering the race every year between 1949 and 1957 and again in 1959. Thanks to Bizarre, there is a good selection of these cars available, several of which I’ve shown over the years. However, there was one that I’ve been missing that I finally found as NOS at a bricks and mortar store locally that was closing down.
In 1954, Frazer Nash built three ‘Sebring’ chassis, two convertibles and one as a coupe. The body shape was a mix of the Le Mans coupe nose and grille with Mille Miglia style tail and it was powered by the Bristol 2.0 Litre engine. The name ‘Sebring’ was chosen in honour of Frazer-Nash's victory in the 12-hour endurance race in 1952.
This particular car made several appearances at domestic UK events in 1954, but didn’t make its international debut until Le Mans in 1955 where Frazer Nash had two works entries. The #35 Fraser Nash was entered for Frenchman Marcel Becquart and Brit Richard Stoop, lining up on the grid in 33rd position based on engine capacity.
Their progress in the first six hours was unspectacular, but over the next six hours they moved up to 14th place overall. From there, they steadily chipped away at the cars in front, moving into 10th position in the 20th hour. They were able to hold 10th position, and 4th in the 2.0 litre class until the chequered flag.
This car returned to Le Mans in 1956 as the sole entry for Frazer Nash. Sadly, its race came to an end in the tenth hour after the completion of 100 laps. As the Frazer Nash went through the esses, it collided with the #18 Talbot Lago which had been abandoned on lap 32 of the race. The damage to the Frazer Nash was too great to continue and its race was over.
Car : 1955 #35 Frazer Nash Sebring
Team : Automobiles Frazer Nash Ltd.
Drivers : Marcel Becquart (F)/ Richard Stoop (GB)
Qualifying : 33rd
Result : 10th
Model : Bizarre (BZ211)
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Post by DeadCanDanceR on Feb 3, 2023 8:45:54 GMT -5
Very nice looking model!  |
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Post by reeft1 on Feb 3, 2023 10:31:40 GMT -5
Nice!
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Post by Tom on Feb 3, 2023 11:08:14 GMT -5
It's a '50s endurance car, that should be enough... but what a great shape.
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Post by oldirish33 on Feb 3, 2023 12:47:41 GMT -5
I have always liked the looks of the Sebring and its quirky engineering (ever see one with its bonnet up?) adds to the appeal. Nice add!
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Post by Scalainjridesagain on Feb 4, 2023 4:49:56 GMT -5
Thats a nice addition and a good find too
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Post by JSB33 on Feb 4, 2023 6:35:52 GMT -5
A real cracker there, I like this a ton.
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Post by Alfaholic on Feb 5, 2023 8:22:03 GMT -5
Simple, classic 50s racer - and all the better for it.
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LM24HRS
Member
Paul - "Collecting Motorsport in Miniature; for the passion and its history".
Posts: 457
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Post by LM24HRS on Feb 6, 2023 2:44:46 GMT -5
Beautiful start Ian. Of all places I found mine in a model shop in Andorra on our 2018 Pyrenees road trip.
It reminds me of great times. Lovely model.
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Post by jager on Feb 6, 2023 18:27:45 GMT -5
Very nice looking model! Thanks Julio, I'm very pleased to have found it. Indeed! It's a '50s endurance car, that should be enough... but what a great shape. I love these cars that look fast even when they're standing still Tom. I have always liked the looks of the Sebring and its quirky engineering (ever see one with its bonnet up?) adds to the appeal. Nice add! I've never seen one in the flesh Jerry and not sure I ever will. I'll have to Google for the engine detail. Thats a nice addition and a good find too I thought you'd appreciate it Andy. A real cracker there, I like this a ton. Thanks Jeff...that's high praise. Simple, classic 50s racer - and all the better for it. ...and its not even red Martin! It makes me think of what Ferrari might have done with the shape of the Ferrari 375 that won Le Mans in 1954. Beautiful start Ian. Of all places I found mine in a model shop in Andorra on our 2018 Pyrenees road trip. It reminds me of great times. Lovely model. It amazes me that there is still stock of new Bizarres out there, even though its been 15 years since the company closed down Paul. Have you ever gone back to the shop in Andorra again? |
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Post by jager on Feb 11, 2023 3:56:23 GMT -5
If this model looks vaguely familiar, it's probably because Andy showed this in October last year. However things move a little slower in this part of the world. At Le Mans in 1960, Aston Martin was humiliated when Ferrari's 250 GT SWBs took the first five places in the GT class. Drastic measures were needed to make the DB4 GT competitive against the Ferrari 250 GT’s, so Aston Martin commissioned Italian coachbuilder Zagato to design and construct a lightweight streamlined body. However even the DB4 GT Zagato’s were still unable to match the Ferraris. Reluctant to give up the fight with Ferrari, Aston Martin developed a new version of the DB4 GT to run under the new four litre prototype rules of 1962. Dubbed the DP212, this new car was significantly lighter than the DB4GT due to the greater use of aluminium for the chassis. Hours were also spend designing and refining the body in a wind tunnel for maximum efficiency. The DP212 was further developed for 1963, becoming the DP214. The cars were completely redesigned and built around a lightweight chassis using box section girder frames. The DP214’s also used a production based Tadek Marek 3.7 litre engine, unlike the DP212's larger 4.0 litre engine. Two DP214’s made their debut at the 1963 24 Hours of Le Mans. This car, which ran as the #7 entry in 1963, was running in 3rd place overall behind the two Ferrari 330 prototype but they suffered piston failure in the 10th hour. By this point the sister #8 car had long since retired with the same problem. Aston Martin closed its racing department at the end of 1963, selling off both the DP214s that had competed at Le Mans in 1963. Car #7, chassis #0194/R was sold to Mike Salmon even though he’d not been part of Aston Martin’s 1963 campaign. Salmon entered the car at Le Mans for 1964, recruiting Peter Sutcliffe as his co-driver. The car's qualifying time was significantly slower than it had the previous year, but this was still good enough for 14th position on the grid.  Once the race got underway, the Aston Martin DB 214 proved it had lost none of its speed, moving up to 6th position by the end of the second hour. Unfortunately it dropped back to 17th position by the end of the fourth hour but was able to recover to 11th position by the end of the sixth hour. For the next twelve hours it hovered between 10th and 12th position, but unfortunately a pit lane error brought disqualification in the 19th hour for premature oil replenishment when it was still running in 11th position.   Car : 1964 #18 Aston Martin DB 214Team : Mike Salmon Drivers : Mike Salmon (GB)/ Peter Sutcliffe (GB) Qualifying : 14th Result : 27th (DSQ – Oil Replenishment) Model : Spark (S3686) |
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Post by Tom on Feb 11, 2023 4:34:51 GMT -5
Stunning.
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Post by reeft1 on Feb 11, 2023 5:09:25 GMT -5
Wunderbar
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Post by JSB33 on Feb 11, 2023 7:58:27 GMT -5
Gorgeous
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Post by DeadCanDanceR on Feb 11, 2023 9:40:20 GMT -5
Agreed with all of the comments above!  |
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