GN (car)
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The GN was a British
cyclecar A cyclecar was a type of small, lightweight and inexpensive motorized car manufactured in Europe and the United States between 1910 and the early 1920s. The purpose of cyclecars was to fill a gap in the market between the motorcycle and the c ...
made in London, between 1910 and 1925. The name derived from its founders, H.R. Godfrey and Archibald Frazer-Nash. Production ceased in 1923 but the company kept trading until 1925.


History

The GN
cyclecar A cyclecar was a type of small, lightweight and inexpensive motorized car manufactured in Europe and the United States between 1910 and the early 1920s. The purpose of cyclecars was to fill a gap in the market between the motorcycle and the c ...
was made in
Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the London Borough of Barnet, northwest London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient Manorialism, manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has ...
, North London, between 1910 and 1925, then moving to
Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its name ...
, London. The name derives from its founders, H.R. Godfrey (1887-1968) and
Archibald Frazer-Nash Archibald Goodman Frazer Nash (30 June 1889 – 10 March 1965), was an early English people, English motor car designer, engineer, and inventor who specialised in manufacturer of light "cycle cars" and sports cars in England. Nash added his ...
(1889-1965). Production ceased in 1923 but the company kept trading until 1925. After making several cars for their own use, the two founders launched the GN car in 1909, building them in the stables at the Frazer Nash family home. The car was powered by a V twin engine by
JAP ''Jap'' is an English abbreviation of the word " Japanese". In the United States, some Japanese Americans have come to find the term offensive because of the internment they suffered during World War II. Before the attack on Pearl Harbor, ''Jap ...
or
Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French automobile brand owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was established in 1810, making it the oldest car company in the world. On 20 November 1858, Émile Peugeot applie ...
with belt drive to the rear wheels. By 1911, production had moved to Hendon and GN's own 1100 cc engine, using some Peugeot parts being fitted. The engine was mounted in the chassis with the
crankshaft A crankshaft is a mechanical component used in a reciprocating engine, piston engine to convert the reciprocating motion into rotational motion. The crankshaft is a rotating Shaft (mechanical engineering), shaft containing one or more crankpins, ...
parallel to the front axle, driving through a two-speed transmission by chain and
dog clutch A dog clutch (also known as a dog box, dog gears, dog ring, clutch dog, or positive clutch) is a type of clutch that couples two rotating shafts or other rotating components by engagement of interlocking teeth or dogs rather than by friction. T ...
, then by belt to the rear wheels. The two-seat car was very light, weighing only about . Therefore, in spite of the low power available, was achievable, which was very respectable performance for the time. The engine was turned 90 degrees in 1913, with its cylinder heads protruding through the bonnet sides, and a team was entered into the French Cyclecar Grand Prix, resulting in sports models being added to the range. Some 200 cars had been made when production stopped with the outbreak of World War I. Production restarted in 1919, and shortly afterward the company was bought by British Grégoire Ltd and moved to East Hill, Wandsworth in southwest London. The chassis changed from wood to steel, with the chain type transmission now with three speeds and reverse. At its peak, 500 staff were employed, making 55 cars a month. A licence to make the cars was agreed upon with the French maker
Salmson Salmson is a French engineering company. Initially a pump manufacturer, it turned to automobile and aeroplane manufacturing in the 20th century, returning to pump manufacturing in the 1960s, and re-expanded to a number of products and services ...
who made about 1600 cars. By 1921, the cyclecar boom was on the wane and the company went into receivership but was soon sold. The new owner, a Mr Black, wanted to move to much higher production levels and away from sports cars. A four-cylinder water-cooled model with 1098 cc DFP engine and shaft drive to a differential on the solid rear axle was introduced in 1922 as part of the new policy. Godfrey and Frazer Nash left the company later that year. In 1923 a Chapuis-Dornier engine replaced the DFP, but production of the new car and the old V twin model stopped in May. About 4000 cars of all types were made by GN in the post war period. A new company was founded by some ex-employees and a few more cars were made from parts in 1924 and 1925, but the main business was spares and service. In 1925 the company became
General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...
dealers. H.R. Godfrey went on to found a new car company, Godfrey-Proctor, and later HRG.
Frazer Nash Frazer Nash was a brand of British sports car manufactured from 1922 first by Frazer Nash Limited founded by engineer Archibald Frazer-Nash. On its financial collapse in 1927 a new company, AFN Limited, was incorporated. Control of AFN passed ...
formed the car maker that took his name where he re-introduced his chain and clutch transmission system.


Famous GNs

The most notable racing GNs were Archie Fraser-Nash's "Mowgli", "Kim" and Basil Davenport's "Spider", "BHD" and his "Big Spider". Other famous prewar "GN Specials" were "Wasp", "Wilkes-GN", "GNat", "Martyr", "The Becke Powerplus", "The Wilkes GN" "The Chawner GN", "Grasshopper" & "COGNAC", all of them very successful hill climb cars of the 1920s and 1930s. Many still compete today, alongside a number of machines recently constructed from period parts. Spider was an extremely successful sprint car and held the outright record at
Shelsley Walsh Speed Hill Climb The Shelsley Walsh Speed Hill Climb is a Hillclimbing, hillclimb in Shelsley Walsh, Worcestershire, England, organised by the Midland Automobile Club (MAC). It is one of the oldest motorsport events in the world, and is the oldest to have been s ...
several times in the 1920s.


Poetry

A
doggerel Doggerel, or doggrel, is poetry that is irregular in rhythm and in rhyme, often deliberately for burlesque or comic effect. Alternatively, it can mean verse which has a monotonous rhythm, easy rhyme, and cheap or trivial meaning. The word is de ...
rhyme of the time went: :''Nash and Godfrey hated cogs,'' :''Built a car with chains and dogs.'' :''And it worked, but would it if'' :''They had built it with a diff''


References

*Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile. Editor
G.N. Georgano George Nicolas "Nick" Georgano (29 February 1932 – 22 October 2017Nick Georgano
Alvis Archive Bl ...
. The Stationery Office, 2000. *A-Z of Cars of the 1920s. Nick Baldwin. Bay View Books 1989.


External links

{{commonscat, GN vehicles
Official website of the Frazer Nash Car Club
Vintage vehicles Cyclecars Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of England Vehicle manufacture in London Defunct companies based in London History of the London Borough of Barnet History of the London Borough of Wandsworth