We take a tour through the Fraser Cars factory and grab the chance to road test one of its iconic sports cars.

The Fraser Clubman was born in 1988, a vision of the company’s founder, Neil Fraser. Initially Neil built a sports car for himself inspired by the legendary Lotus 7 — a car which would quickly generate an enthusiastic response amongst the local sports car fraternity. It was this interest that was the catalyst for the birth of Fraser Cars. The company was immediately successful, building complete turnkey Clubman sports cars, as well as supplying them in kit form to aspiring owners who were keen to build their own unique car. Naturally, Neil was there to assist every step of the way if and when his expertise was required.

It didn’t take too long before a group of Fraser Clubman enthusiasts formed their own club in support of the marque — testament to Neil’s vision and superb engineering skills. The Fraser Car Club is currently very active, and participates in everything from track days to leisurely cruises as often as possible.

When visiting the company recently to gather information for this article, I got talking to a very proud owner who had just driven his Fraser all the way from Nelson to Auckland after stopping and participating in the Fraser Car Club’s track day at Taupo along the way. He had built his car himself and had, in fact, squeezed a Mazda V6 engine into the narrow engine compartment — which he said provided exhilarating performance. The car looked fabulous, as it boasted a combination of polished alloy and carbon-fibre body components, one of the many options available from Fraser Cars.

Rising Sun

It wasn’t just Kiwi sport car lovers who took a shine to the Fraser Clubman, as an agent was appointed in Japan to cater for the increasing interest in the open-air sportster.
Neil started exporting Clubmans to Japan in the early’90s and, so far, approximately 140 have made their way to Japanese owners.

Neil was always looking for new ideas, and continued to experiment with different designs for other cars as well as ensuring that the Clubmans were built to the highest standards and finish available. Neil eventually built a Le Mans-style sports car, which he intended to add to the Fraser Cars line-up. However, only one was ever built and it ended up in the USA — although the owner, I believe, still keeps in touch with the factory.

Fraser Cars has also been involved in several one-off projects, adding extensive knowledge and engineering expertise to replicas of such cars such as a 962 Porsche, AC Cobras and Lotus 7s.

The New Team

Scott Tristram joined the team at Fraser Cars in 2002 as a chassis builder, and enjoyed it so much he ended up purchasing the company from Neil Fraser in 2006. Since then Scott has continued to follow in Neil’s footsteps; offering a first class product while sustaining continual growth.

Scott now employs a small team of three full-time skilled craftsmen, all dedicated to producing not only Fraser Clubmans, but also one-off projects including custom fabrication projects for hot rods. This is an area Scott sees as a significant growth opportunity for his business. In addition, Scott has also continued to export cars overseas to Japan and, more recently, Australia, and he hopes that at current exchange rates this trend will allow the company to prosper, especially as Fraser Cars has built an outstanding reputation for soundly designed, solidly constructed and well-built sports cars.

To date, a total of 316 cars have left Fraser Cars’ Auckland facility, either fully constructed or in kit set form ready for the new owners to assemble.

Fraser Cars offers a whole pile of option packages which cater for all types of builders — from those with limited skills to those with more advanced engineering abilities. With various engine, transmission and suspension packages along with body and interior options, dependent upon budget, Scott can supply the parts for the home-builder to make anything from a wild, fire-breathing track car to a relatively docile Sunday cruiser, and virtually anything in between. All parts are supplied to each individual’s specifications.

Scott reiterated that Fraser Cars is totally committed to manufacturing the highest quality cars possible by adopting the latest in manufacturing processes and safety standards. All completed cars are fully low volume certified and built to current New Zealand regulations.

Behind the Wheel

As luck would have it, on the day of our visit Scott had Fraser Cars’ brand new Clubman demonstrator sitting in the workshop and, as I had never driven anything like this before, now seemed as good a time as any to get behind the wheel. Walking around the Clubman, I thought how good it looked in white. Scott commented that he hadn’t seen one in that colour scheme before, and decided to go for something a little different. This was basically a standard model of the Clubman, as Scott thought that a modified version might be more harmful as a promotional vehicle, especially for those that weren’t used to such a car — like me!

My initial reaction was how on earth was I ever going to squeeze into this thing. Actually, given the fact that the Clubman is completely open, getting my backside onto the custom-built leather driver’s seat was a lot easier than I thought. The long narrow footwell was perfect for my gangly legs although I did have to remove my shoes, as more appropriate footwear is required due to the limited space around the pedals. Once the full harness seat belts were secured I actually felt surprisingly comfortable — with oodles of room to stretch out, just the way I like it.

With Scott buckled in beside me we were ready to hit the road. The Toyota 4A-GE 20-valve black-top engine sounded quite sporty, and was beautifully responsive through the rev range as I headed off, changing up through the T50 five-speed gearbox.

One of the first things you notice when driving a Fraser Clubman is how low to the ground you are, sort of like driving a street-legal go-kart. The Fraser felt fairly solid and robust for such an intricately engineered car and, because I wasn’t used to driving such a vehicle, I found being able to see the front suspension travel and the guards bobbing up and down quite disconcerting. As we headed out on to Auckland’s Northern motorway it gave me a chance to really appreciate what the Clubman is all about — limpet-like road-holding, responsive steering and pin-point handling.

Superb performance combined with open air and a fine day — what more could you possibly want?

Words: Ashley Webb Photos: Dan Wakelin

This article is from NZ Classic Car issue 221. Click here to check it out.