Frazer Nash, BMW

• Owned by Alastair Pugh, Captain and Patron of the Frazer Nash Car Club for 31 years
• Restored to its current configuration in 2018
• Highly eligible for numerous vintage racing events, including the Mille Miglia and Le Mans Classic
• One of only 48 Frazer Nash-BMW 328s exported to the UK
• Valid FIA Historic Technical Passport until December 2027

Considered by many to be the first "modern" sports car, BMW’s 328 was seemingly lightyears ahead of its competition. Unlike other German cars, which used steel rail chassis, BMW had perfected the design of lightweight tubular chassis with welded floors, allowing the use of softer springs and shock absorbers, and making cornering circuit lightning fast. Add to this the engine block and brakes from the BMW 326 and one had nearly reached perfection. The final touch came from a power boost via a completely redesigned cylinder head, which uses one lateral camshaft high on the left side, with valves inclined at 90 degrees and the spark plug in the center.

Though more than 460 328 Roadsters were built by BMW, only a fraction made their way to the United Kingdom. Just 48 cars, accounting for approximately 10% of production, were imported via an agreement with AFN Ltd. As such, all cars sold in the UK were badged as Frazer Nash-BMWs. Chassis number 85411 was built as a right-hand-drive chassis according to Fraser Nash archives, and was one of a small cohort dispatched to Britain in June 1939 as the clouds of war gathered over Europe. Unsold by the start of the conflict in September, it was immediately seized by HM Customs and Excise alongside five others and remained impounded and unfinished until the conclusion of hostilities. Fascinatingly, it is said BMW was never paid for the cars as a result of war reparations. Finally released to AFN Ltd in 1946, the car was completed by the firm that same year, presumably using bodywork supplied from another 328, prior to being registered for the first time on 30 May 1946.

The first owner of this 328 was Edwin Redwood of Cheshire, who was apparently an associate of the Aldington Brothers at AFN Ltd. The car moved to Ireland in subsequent ownership and was later repatriated by Tony Mitchell, who then sold it to Ken Whimster in 1976. Whimster was a well-known figure in Frazer Nash circles, being the former archivist of the BMW Historic Motor Club, so it makes sense that he would have known the car’s next owner, Alastair Pugh, quite well. Pugh bought chassis number 85411 directly from Ken Whimster in 1988, at which point it was finished in red with a black interior. Pugh was the Captain and Patron of the Frazer Nash Car Club, and as one would expect, had no qualms with using the car as its manufacturers intended, both on the road and on the track.

The car was used by him frequently over the course of the next 30 years, primarily in VSCC events but also at larger gatherings including the Shelsley Walsh Hill Climb, Silverstone Classic, Goodwood Revival and the Le Mans Course du Centenaires event held prior to the running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Early on in Pugh’s ownership, the car was featured in two magazine articles: the 11 June 1992 issue of Country Life and the June 1993 issue of The Automobile magazine. An accident during the VSCC Pomeroy Trophy at Silverstone in 1996 led to a mechanical and cosmetic rebuild, with particular attention paid to ensuring that the car was rebuilt to period-correct specifications. Some modifications were made in the early 2000s, including the fitment of a half-height windscreen, twin-leading-shoe front brakes and a spare wheel well cover. Furthermore, the car was fitted with a Bristol gearbox for racing (while the original Hurth gearbox accompanies the car). In 2018, the 328’s bodywork received an extensive restoration and repaint at Mitchell Motors in Wiltshire and an engine rebuild by INRacing Ltd in Nottingham. This work totaled more than £31,000.

Concluding their aforementioned article, The Automobile stated that they found this car to be “an exhilarating, beautiful, powerful, controllable sports car in every sense of the word.” Well-known for its exploits in vintage racing in the UK and perfectly suited to long-distance touring, this 328 would excel either back on track or on the open road.