Beschreibung:

THE EX-ARCHIE GRIPPER & JOHN TWEEDALE ALPINE TRIAL 1932 FRAZER NASH TT REPLICA TWO SEATER SPORTS U.K. Registration No. MV1620 Chassis No. 2045 Engine No. 10272 Green with brown leather upholstery Engine: Meadows 4-cylinder in line, 1,657cc, twin SU carburetors, c52bhp at 4,000rpm; Gearbox: four speed selected by dog-clutch and chains to bevel box on solid rear axle; Suspension: quarter-elliptic cantilever leaf springs to front and rear beam axles; Brakes: hydraulically operated drum. Right hand drive. The Frazer Nash TT Replica is one of the most beloved of all English sports cars; hand-built, and produced in small quantity in a tiny factory in a London suburb. Within a few short seasons, it built a reputation out of all proportion to the numbers manufactured. The TT Replica's chassis design was already dated when it appeared in 1931, there was little attempt to streamline the compact two-seater body, and its chain-drive transmission was, even in the early 1930s, regarded as highly idiosyncratic. Under the strict guidance of managing director, H. J. Aldington, the company was never prepared to provide much more than encouragement to the eager private owners who raced and rallied its products, or an engraved Dunhill cigarette lighter to those who succeeded. And successes there were: Frazer Nash performances in the grueling International Alpine Trials of 1932 to 1934 are legendary, with four out of six cars entered in 1934 completing the course without loss of a single mark. The company's wordy advertisements had their own flavor, In the International Alpine Trial both Frazer Nashes entered lost no marks and won Glacier Cups. One of these cars then competed in the Tourist Trophy race and had a trouble-free run.... at an average speed of 68.86mph. Later in the same year the car was first to finish in the MCC high-speed trial [at Brooklands], averaging 85.43 mph, the highest speed of the day . With the Frazer Nash steering taking less than a turn of the wheel from lock to lock, the lightweight, taughtly-suspended TT Replica was one of the most responsive cars of its era. Controlled by that famous rigid outside lever, gear-changing was close to instantaneous. It was originally powered by the forthright four-cylinder 1500cc Meadows, which was later much tuned by the factory before they produced their own engine, and later they turned to Blackburne engines. It must be conceded that any extra power the latter unit produced merely helped to offset its greater weight. Carrying its complement of quick-release filler caps, outside exhaust headers, racing-type fly-off handbrake, bonnet louvres, spring-spoke steering wheel, fold-flat windscreen, and a full stock of instruments, the Frazer Nash was the beau ideal of the 1930s enthusiast and still has great panache. MV1620 is undoubtedly one of the most famous of all TT Replicas and played an important part in establishing the competition record mentioned above. Archie Gripper was an enthusiastic customer who had competed in the 1931 Alpine Trial driving a Riley. The event comprised of a challenging drive through the mountains of Austria, France, Italy and Switzerland. He purchased this Falcon model Frazer Nash in March 1932, competed in a few events and then, in July, decided to have his car re-bodied to the lighter and more fashionable TT Replica style. His enthusiasm for the event persuaded H. J. Aldington, known to all as Aldy, to also enter the event in a new TT Replica. The event ran from Munich to San Remo, taking in numerous mountain passes and some 1,500 miles. The two most challenging passes, against the clock, were the Stelvio and Little St Bernard. On the Stelvio, MV1620 stormed the hill (48 hairpins, over 9,000 feet and 17 miles) in 27 minutes and 43 seconds driven by Grippers co-driver, Leon Maxwell. This was easily the fastest time of the day for their class (1,500cc) which had over 22 entries. At the end of the Trial both Nashes finished without the loss of a single mark, wi