Grand Prix Cyclecar

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When Ron Godfrey and Archie Frazer-Nash revealed their first prototype GN in 1910, little could they have imagined that, 10 years later, their firm would have come to epitomise the very best of the British cyclecar industry: cars that were affordable, sprightly and rollicking good fun. Sadly, most of GN’s earliest output has been lost to time, but the oldest survivor of the marque has just burst back onto the scene after a devoted rebuild.

At the time chassis number 208 was built, GN’s only catalogued bodies were standard two-seaters, but bespoke requests could be accommodated. Number 208 was commissioned as a monoposto, but unfortunately, its original body was replaced shortly after World War II. That loss aside, this GN Grand Prix remains a treasure of the greatest magnitude; not only is it the oldest complete GN still extant, it is also the only original example to survive from the belt-drive days before chain-drive became the preferred method of turning the wheels. Since the vee-twin is original, it is almost certainly the oldest running GN engine, the marque having given up on troublesome Peugeot and JAP vee-twins shortly before this car was built.

It is not without mystery, either. Though the VCC and a letter written by Godfrey in 1955 date the car as a 1914 model, the plaque on the dash begs to differ. It says the car was made at the Elms Works, which closed in 1913, so that would be a very special claim if true. Reg Winstone unravels the genesis of GN in the August issue of The Automobile, now on sale.

Words by Zack Stiling. Photographs by Stefan Marjoram.

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