Frazer Nash Targa Florio Sports

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As the potential fell by the wayside (race track)
 
Performance is not always recognized at the decisive moment! This little wisdom was and still is valid in every area of life. In the automotive area, the British company Frazer Nash had to cope bitterly with this knowledge.

It was the time of the early 1950s when Frazer Nash hoped to find his passion in motorsport. In terms of sport, all successes were outclassed by the victory at the Targa Florio in 1951. With a type ‘Le Mans-Replica’, the 48-year-old Franco Cortese, who specialized in endurance racing, competed in the team ‘Scuderia Ambrosiana’ at the traditional long-distance race in Sicily and won the prestigious event. His victory with the starting number 84 marked the first victory of a British car at this traditional event, which has been held since 1906.

At the company’s headquarters in Isleworth – Middlesex – this success was rated so highly that the management decided to produce a car with the addition ‘Targa Florio Sport’ from 1952, which should make the glorious victory even better known. The new car replaced the previous ‘Le Mans’ type and was based on a tubular frame over which a sparsely dimensioned, no-frills aluminum body was fitted. With the history, eponymous victory in the background and the sporty character of the cars, everyone would have bet that the Targa Florio Sport should have met a great demand from the ambitious British and American racing community.

Disappointingly, however, the company had to realize that hardy anyone wanted the car. After two years of production, only 14 copies – sometimes the number 15 is mentioned at this point – left the production facilities.