LOT 567

1937 Frazer Nash-BMW 315/2 Sports Tourer Coachwork by Whittingham & Mitchel Registration no. FMC 116 Chassis no. 66.062 Engine no. 66.062

Estimate: £20,000 - £30,000

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Lot 567

1937 Frazer Nash-BMW 315/2 Sports Tourer

The Beaulieu Sale: Collectors' Motor Cars & Automobilia|2 September 2023, 14:30 BST|Beaulieu, National Motor Museum

1937 Frazer Nash-BMW 315/2 Sports Tourer
Coachwork by Whittingham & Mitchel
Registration no. FMC 116
Chassis no. 66.062
Engine no. 66.062

• One of only six in this style by Whittingham & Mitchel
• Matching chassis and engine
• Original registration
• Requires re-commissioning

Introduced in 1934, the BMW 315 boasted a 1½-litre six-cylinder engine; a twin-tube chassis with transverse-leaf IFS; a synchromesh gearbox; and mechanical brakes, all of which made it one of the more advanced designs of the period. Good for around 65-70mph, the 315 was sold in the UK as the Frazer Nash-BMW Type 34, AFN Ltd having concluded an agreement with BMW for the importation of BMW motor cars, some having German bodies and others locally made coachwork.

The car offered here is one of 22 BMW 315 triple-carburettor sport specification chassis imported by AFN and known as the 315/40 or 315/2. According to the BMW Historic Motor Club, 15 of these cars were right-hand drive. Production records listed in Denis Jenkinson's AFN history show that this is one of six cars bodied in aluminium as four-seat tourers by Whittingham & Mitchel, a company based in New Kings Road, Fulham and after WW2 in Staines, Middlesex. How many of these six cars survive is not known.

The current owner acquired 'FMC 116' as a non-runner in 1966; little history is known prior to that other than an advertisement in Motor Sport in December 1957 claiming it 'fast to drive and pretty to look at' and 'believed the only one of its type'.

Some work was done to the car over the years, and there are invoices on file from Bristol Engineering (successors to marque specialists TT Workshops) dating from 2012 and others relating to further work by Paul Rogers Engineering in December 2016, resulting in an MoT pass. The car has been unused since and will require recommissioning.

The cream paintwork dates from the 1950s, as does the interior trimmed in beige vinyl, while the hood and side screens, in cream vinyl, are in usable condition. The instruments are incorrect and the hub caps missing, but otherwise the car is believed to be complete. This classic pre-war Frazer Nash-BMW represents a wonderful opportunity to own a car which, following recommissioning, will be suitable and eligible for all manner of competitions.

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