The Bristol — Brit, not Bling
Posted by Chris Dykes
Jaguar, Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin and Bentley are the names associated with British luxury automobiles, however none can any longer claim British ownership. Little Morgan can certainly claim British ownership, as the family is still in control, but their handcrafted, traditional sports cars have little to do with luxury. Somewhere in the middle lies Bristol Cars Ltd., handcrafted in very small numbers since 1946 outside the town for which they’re named in Southeastern England for customers who must be very wealthy and not in need of automotive validation. Because when one arrives in a Bristol, people might not notice.
After World War II, with much skilled labor and industrial potential at hand, the Bristol Aeroplane company decided to hand build high-priced luxury automobiles. Original designs failed, and brothers Don Aldington, who was on Bristol’s Board of Directors, and H.J. Aldington who was BMW’s representative in England and imported BMWs under the Frazer Nash BMW badge, capitalized on their connections and brought in BMW engineer Fritz Fielder to design a car they thought would be called the Frazer Nash Bristol. Their connections with the Bristol Aeroplane Company were good, but not that good, and the name of the resulting car was simply Bristol. The first model in 1946 was the 400.
From the start Bristol intended to set cost aside and produce machines to the highest possible standards, often with aeronautical engineering tolerances, that would strike a balance between performance and comfort. Instead of a flashy curbside presence, the style of the cars over the years has been understated — often handsome, if sometimes not pretty, and evolution rather than revolution has been the design trend. A Bristol built in 2007 bears a familial profile to previous models, as well as casting almost the same shadow. A new Bristol Blenheim is one inch longer and two inches wider than the 401 of 1949. Sedans, convertibles, sports cars, and a few examples from specialist coachbuilders such as Zagato, Bertone, and Viotti were produced, but conservative coupes represent the majority of production.
Often the conservative bodies held impressive engineering. Whereas the original Bristol 400 used steel panels over a wood frame which was standard for the time, its successor the 401 used aluminum body panels over a “superleggera” frame constructed of many small diameter tubes. The tubes would vary in strength according to their duty. A fender would be built upon a stronger tube, so as to bear the weight of a mechanic as he worked on the engine. Despite the engineering leap from wood to tubular framing, the look of the car changed very little, although other barely noticeable features were incorporated, such as door releases that fit flush until a push-button release extends the levers, and bumpers that retract an inch and a half upon minor impacts.
In keeping with the practice of designing useful performance cars for well-heeled customers, much thought was given to the passenger’s experience. A Bristol should be able to travel great distances, provide a balance of speed and comfort, and meet the driver’s fickle whims for either in equal measure. To maximize luggage and interior space a unique storage cubby for the spare tire was cleverly placed in a hinged panel just behind the front wheel well beginning with the Bristol 404 of 1953, a design that continues in today’s Bristol Blenheim. Walnut dashboards, Wilton carpets, and leather upholstery contribute to the tactile experience inside the car, and impressive ventilation systems circulate air in the cabin. Occasionally a road tester fails to properly understand the ventilation system, and claims that the car has too much road noise for its class.
Bristols have always been expensive, even by standards set by the other British luxury makers. In 1953 a Bristol 403, the last in the line of the BMW-inspired cars that began with the 400, cost just shy of £3000, a £400 premium over an Aston Martin DB 2/4 and almost twice the cost of a Jaguar Mk VII. Production figures are 281 for the Bristol, compared to 565 Astons and almost 21,000 Jaguars. Rarity, too, is a Bristol tradition.
Beginning with the 400, models were numbered consecutively until the 412 of 1975. The following model marked a break in the sequence, and was called the 603, perhaps to avoid any hint of triskaidekaphobia, but also to commemorate the 603rd anniversary of the town of Bristol. The 603 has evolved to the current Blenheim, representing a change from numbering models to naming them after airplanes from the company’s history. And the latest Bristol is the stunning Fighter coupe powered by a modified V10 engine from the Dodge Viper, also in keeping with the company’s use of Chrysler engines since the 407 of 1961.
Today’s client list is confidential, as are production figures, although Sterling Moss has been spotted checking on the status of his Bristol Fighter at the only showroom, located in London. And Peter Sellers — brilliant, quirky, at once able to be many things to many people — briefly owned a unique Bristol 407 designed by Viotti that heavily influenced later Bristol designs.
Placing engineering efforts ahead of cost considerations, and relying on a market that appreciates and can afford those efforts has served the company well, though it is now in private ownership. In 1960 a grandson of a founder of the Bristol Aeroplane Company, Sir George White, and a respected 1950s British race car driver named Anthony Crook bought the automotive division of Bristol when the company was being divided. By 1973, Crook owned the automobile company outright. His cars are still hand built near Bristol in a factory that offers to maintain any Bristol ever made, and whose staff have a cumulative 500 years experience building and repairing the cars. Of course they can recondition any car’s interior, but also claim to be able to fabricate any part or update any Bristol with, say, a satellite navigation system. Bear in mind that cost is no object.
Some say that a modern Bristol is hopelessly outdated, that fit and finish is not up to current standards, and that styling is trapped in the 1980s. It’s the same problem Morgan faced in the 1960s when its roadsters simply hadn’t evolved with its competitors, and only a handful of customers would pay for old craftsmanship. Of course, Morgan outlasted most of those competitors. Rolls, Bentley, Aston Martin and Jaguar offer mass production, technical advances, and funding from their non-British corporations, and for most people still are the standards of British luxury. But with a healthy if confidential customer list, Bristol is poised to continue its tradition of superb engineering, quiet coddling, and understated design for a wealthy few who can forgo the trappings of a flashy arrival.
– Chris Dykes