Readers of the ClassicCars.com Journal likely know Frazier Nash for the sports cars it produced, even though there were only 400 such vehicles rolled out in 33 years of operation from 1924 to 1957. The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile reports that while the production numbers were small, the cars remain popular and many of the cars have survived.
The company was founded in 1922 by Archibald Frazer-Nash, who previously, and in partnership with H.R. Godfrey, has established England’s leading cyclecar company under the G.N. banner.
But while the automaking enterprise closed in 1957, there remains a Frazer-Nash Consultancy in the UK and it has worked with Williams Advanced Engineering — with a heritage in Formula One racing — and the Whizz-Kidz — a charity — to create “a wheelchair for the 21st century.”
The news release about the wheelchair says it was “designed by children… to meet their hopes and dreams.”
Williams brings to the project its experience in the healthcare industry through its previous work on such things as an incubator for transporting critically ill infants and a paralympic handcycle.
The wheelchair project began in 2017 when the Whiz-Kids, Duchenne UK and Edinburg University received a £1 million grant from the People’s Postcode Lottery’s Dream Fund to design a chair that would not just meet medical needs “but harness technology and design to meet a young person’s dreams and aspirations.”
Among other attributes, the chair will have the capability of using stairs, Williams noted.
Hi Mr Edsall, I enjoyed the article. I would have loved to have saw a video of it in operation. My team builds the Children’s Dream Racer for kids in hospitals. A steel body & roll cage race car race that has a race car seat, safety harness, window net, spoiler & splitter. Under the hood is a Sony Play Station 4, it has a TV/Monitor/DVD Player, steering & pedals that work the race game. Also has an oxygen bottle & an IV Pole. Just like their real counter part race cars, they come in the sponsors colors, logos, graphics and Lifetime Advertising. I am wondering if you would care to do an article about our Dream Racers that may help the sick kids get through the tough treatments of chemotherapy and other icky procedures. Thanks for your consideration. Smitty