To mark Bristol’s 80th anniversary, the brand—which went bankrupt long ago—is making a comeback with a continuation model at the “Salon Privé” at Blenheim Palace: a new Bristol Fighter built on an original, unused chassis. The Fighter was the last production model manufactured by Bristol from 2004 to 2011; it is believed that no more than a dozen were produced at the time.
Bristol’s Roots
The two-seater supercar with gull-wing doors is powered by an 8.0-liter V10 engine familiar from the Dodge Viper. It comes standard with 525 PS, and a tuned version with 600 PS is reportedly in the works, capable of speeds well over 300 km/h. The elongated and low-slung design is reminiscent of Bristol’s roots in aviation; every element is engineered with attention to detail and a focus on functionality.
Four additional new Fighters are scheduled to be completed using original, unused chassis, blueprints, and components. Prices are available only upon request. The previous price was around 325,000 euros, but a significant premium is expected for this limited reissue.
The Brand’s Return
Following the announcement that Paul King, owner of Bristol Cars, is leading the brand’s revival and that Richard Hackett —who served as the right-hand man to Bristol CEO Tony Crook during the Fighter era—is returning as chairman, the question arises: Is this a fresh start—or a market test with the five Continuation models? Bristol Cars refers to it as the “first chapter in the brand’s return.”
The roots of Bristol Cars go back to Harold J. Aldington, the BMW importer for the British Empire, who sold the BMW 328 as a Frazer Nash-BMW. After the war, he acquired the design plans for the 326, 327, and 328 models. Together with BMW chief engineer Fritz Fiedler, he founded Bristol Cars in 1946 as a subsidiary of the Bristol Aeroplane Company.
The first model, introduced in 1947, was the Bristol 400, which was largely based on BMW’s pre-war models and would go on to achieve success in motorsports: In 1948, it won the Poland Rally, finished third in the Monte Carlo Rally, and took second place in its class at the Mille Miglia as well as third place overall.
