The Beginning
HTU 446’s chassis number is 85411, it was in the very last shipment to be imported from Germany in September1939, resulting in its immediate impounding by customs for the duration. It was not released until 1946 when the chassis was at last joined up with its BMW bodywork at the Frazer Nash factory in Isleworth. The first owner of HTU 446 was Edwin Redwood. He had associations with the Aldington brothers at AFN. Thereafter the car spent some time in Ireland from where it was recovered by Tony Mitchell. In 1976 Tony sold the car to Ken Whimster, a former archivist of the BMW Historic Section, from whom Alastair Pugh, well known in the Frazer Nash world, acquired it in 1988. To watch Alastair tell the story of HTU 446 himself, see Provenance.
Alastair Pugh and HTU 446
Alastair Pugh, was driving HTU 446 enthusiastically when he was 90. He was seeking to renew his racing licence for sprints and hill climbs, having reluctantly decided circuit racing was for slightly younger competitors. Alastair had a long history with both cars and aeroplanes. Unusually, as a DeHavilland’s apprentice, he had learnt to fly before really learning to drive but, at the age of 21, Alastair bought his first Frazer Nash. This was the start of a 70-year racing career culminating in becoming Captain of the Frazer Nash Car Club, then Patron of both the Club and of the Frazer Nash Archives. He was also a long-standing trustee of Brooklands Museum.
Alastair’s introduction to a pre-war Frazer Nash BMW 328 was driving back in a friend’s 328 from one of the decennial Frazer Nash raids to Bolzano and the Dolomites. He was smitten. British Caledonian, where he had been Managing Director and Vice Chairman, had just been acquired by British Airways. This gave him the time to re-focus on his long-standing interest in pre-war sports car motor racing.
He heard that a Frazer Nash BMW was available in Cheshire and that it had a fascinating backstory, and so went up to Cheshire to look it over. He realised later his enthusiasm for the 328 had slightly clouded him to the condition of the car when he bought it, so over the next 30 years he proceeded to regularly rebuild it, alongside two chain-drive Nashes, all to his rigorous ‘as new’ standard. He campaigned the car vigorously. Following a major accident in the wet at the VSCC Pomeroy Trophy event at Silverstone in 1996, the car was fully rebuilt, largely by Michael Jarrett, but attention to the engineering and coachwork was continuous. In the early 2000s the car was fitted with twin-leading-shoe front brakes, a half-height windscreen, and a spare wheel-well cover, while a Bristol gearbox has been fitted for racing (the original Hurth gearbox is also still with the car).
Over the last three decades Alastair raced HTU 446 at Le Mans (Classic and Legends) in 2005 and 2006, Silverstone, Mallory Park, Goodwood (fastest pre-war car in the Lavant Cup), Etretat, Prescott, Brooklands, the FNCC Alpine Trials and at numerous other locations. He took it on rallies such as the 1000 miles in 24 hours and on many Frazer Nash ‘Raids’. Alastair was also a regular participant in the BMW Historic Motor Club rallies both in the UK and on the Continent. He liked to be competitive, he and the car producing a wealth of speed records and some excellent results (see Racehistory), although this occasionally engendered the need for a further winter rebuild! He saw no reason why a car should not be prepared so as to enable it to succeed both on the circuit and in concours, and this is perhaps evidenced by the car winning, for example, the Brooklands Double Twelve twice.
For Alastair, motor racing kept him young and engaged. Although christened in one television programme ‘Britain’s oldest racing driver’ and still very much in the driver’s seat, Alastair in his 90th year made a decision perfectly in line with his driving philosophy. His view was that cars should always be driven (no trailers for Alastair) and preferably raced. So, he decided he wanted to pass on HTU 446 in perfect condition to its next owner. In 2018 it had a full engine rebuild, and he warned his heirs and successors that he would spend large sums on the bodywork and upholstery – which he did! Finally it was tweaked to perfection by two racing colleagues on Hi Tech Motorsport’s rolling-road.
The family hope, and we know Alastair did as well, that whoever is the next owner of HTU 446, they will get the same joy from the car that they, and above all that Alastair did.
If you would like to find out more, send an email from the Contacts page.
The history of ‘HTU 446’ is documented by three large files. These include numerous invoices dating back to the 1980s, an old-style continuation logbook (1960s), records of races entered and results achieved, various dynamometer printouts, assorted technical literature, and Historic Technical Passport papers (valid to end 2027).
