Bristol cars in administration...

[crockers]

Many quality makers have fallen. Alvis, Armstrong Siddley, Trident, Gilbern and Gordon Keeble to name just a few off the top of my head.
Many 'survivors' are around, but in name only. Lotus, Rolls-Royce and Aston-Martin to name but three.
I think Morgan are now the biggest British car maker.

.

Depends on how you define "British car maker"....made in Britain or British owned?

Can't say I'm overly fussed on Bristols....I am assuming I'm in the minority here but they have never done anything for me.

 

[verytalldave]

Depends on how you define "British car maker"....made in Britain or British owned?

Can't say I'm overly fussed on Bristols....I am assuming I'm in the minority here but they have never done anything for me.

Than again, lots of folk love Corsas, Hyundai's and Ssangyongs.

Each to their own as they say.

 

[stevieb15]

Depends on how you define "British car maker"....made in Britain or British owned?

Can't say I'm overly fussed on Bristols....I am assuming I'm in the minority here but they have never done anything for me.

i've always been a fan....legs as well

 

[Howard]

I'm going to go slightly against the grain here , and say that perhaps if they produced cars that weren't so ugly , they might not be in the situation they are now.

I appreciate that they are all hand built , and are labour of loves , but they don't win any prizes for attractiveness do they ? Most people spending upwards of £100k on a car want it to look 'pretty' surely ?

Cat among pigeons ...... sorry ....

 

[219]

2 LJK Setright "obits" in this thread. LJK Setright - FerrariChat.com
he also liked Morgan 3 wheelers which links nicely to C M's thread. http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/general-discussion/105837-chocks-away-morgan-cleared-take-off.html

I also liked the mention of his stance on smoking in cars

"....it is ironic that in view of what killed him, one of his last essays eloquently railed against manufacturers that now offer non-smoking cars. "It is refreshing," he concluded, "that there remain stalwarts for whom driving and smoking - two of the greatest pleasure known to man - are not to be separated."


I think worthy of copying over onto the thread about anti-smoking roadblocks .

 

[MOCAŠ]

I'm going to go slightly against the grain here , and say that perhaps if they produced cars that weren't so ugly , they might not be in the situation they are now.

I appreciate that they are all hand built , and are labour of loves , but they don't win any prizes for attractiveness do they ? Most people spending upwards of £100k on a car want it to look 'pretty' surely ?

Cat among pigeons ...... sorry ....

You're probably thinking primarily of the 603-based Blenheim coupe, which has a perhaps undergone a facelift or two too many. But it's fair to say that these cars have never sold on their looks; they have a discreet and dedicated following amongst connoisseurs of the marque. Not entirely sure what had precipitated the current situation, but it won't have been the cars' styling.

Here's the current range:

Series 6

Blenheim S3

Blenhiem Roadster

Blenhiem Speedster

Fighter

 

[Howard]

All just look a little bit 'wrong' , like they were designed by YTS students ?

The fighter comes close, but is spoiled by the bug eyed headlamps.

 

[MOCAŠ]

All just look a little bit 'wrong' , like they were designed by YTS students ?

The fighter comes close, but is spoiled by the bug eyed headlamps.

Fighter apart, all of the current body shells date from well before the YTS was even legislated for. I know what you mean, though. The cars are an acquired taste that don't even attempt to achieve universal appeal.

 

[verytalldave]

Thats the first time I have ever seen a roadster

If I only had enough money...........

Bristol Cars Ltd - Blenheim Speedster

I believe Jeremy Clarkson hated them.

Good.

 

[grober]

Correct me if I'm wrong but they would appear to fit the profile of a car manufacturer likely to be patronised by the Royal Family. Very expensive, bespoke type cars just slightly eccentric /out of touch with the mainstream,-- with slightly old fashioned " individual " looks. Think Prince of Wales -Lagonda Princes Ann- Reliant Scimitar etc Did any of their models receive the "By Appointment" status I wonder??

 

[verytalldave]

Unlikely any member of the royal family owning a Bristol.

They would actually have to BUY it.

As opposed to having been given it as a freebie.

But I know exactly what you mean.

 

[Dryce]

I'm going to go slightly against the grain here , and say that perhaps if they produced cars that weren't so ugly , they might not be in the situation they are now.

I appreciate that they are all hand built , and are labour of loves , but they don't win any prizes for attractiveness do they ? Most people spending upwards of £100k on a car want it to look 'pretty' surely ?

Cat among pigeons ...... sorry ....

Nah. Even in the 70s they looked like early sixties throwbacks. The Brigand and Beaufighter looked off key.

However the more recent ones were beginning to look better. But then we nw have the X6 and the Juke from volum manufacturers. So that might not be saying much.

It's rather poignant that LJKS should be brought up. I reminisce more about his contributions to Car about Bristols (when it was the proper stapled car magazine and not very glossy) than the actual cars themselves.

 

[219]

His writings were the main reason I bought Car magazine back in those days , and the first thing I turned to each month .

He was also a great exponent of Mercedes-Benz : one of my favourite writings of his is " There is more cleverness per cubic inch in a Mercedes-Benz than in any other make of car " . That , if I remember correctly , was written in relation to the W126 when it was first introduced .

 

[oldcro]

Do you remember Rolls royces advert in Car magazine (and probably others), a photograph looking down the bonnet on a country road. Nothing else just plain class.

 

[219]

I don't remember ever seeing anything as vulgar as an advertisement for Rolls-Royce .

Nor Bristol or Mercedes-Benz back in the old days , come to think of it .

When you had waiting lists for every car you could produce , advertising was a needless expense .

 

[Charles Morgan]

Car in the 70s and 80s was more than simply a car magazine, it was a work of literature with a masterclass in car photography every month. It was written by people who could write, understood engineering and in LLK Setright, combined the two with his first rate mind to brilliant effect.

He of course wrote the definitive work on the Bristol Car, available from Palawan books at a mere few hundred quid.

The 600 series were never quite right to look at, but the 411 in series 6 guise would be my ideal long distance car. Alas, now very unlikely.

 

[219]

He of course wrote the definitive work on the Bristol Car, available from Palawan books at a mere few hundred quid.

Currently listed on the Bristol website ( in the Gifts section ) at a mere £300 .

I'm just pleased to have his 'Mercedes-Benz Roadsters' (Osprey) , which set me back something like £20 more than a few years ago .

 

[oldcro]

I don't remember ever seeing anything as vulgar as an advertisement for Rolls-Royce .

There's quite a few here, but not the one I was thinking of. Admittedly I may have been wrong in believing there were no words as "The best car in the world" was probably printed below the photo.

Quick Search

 

[Dand]

Gutted to hear this i remember as a kid being taken for a spin in a blue 412, was a lovely car. I think with the way the world is at the moment it was bound to happen though. They were a bit to boutique. im sure they will be revived tho because they have a hardcore following, well thats hoping for

 

[kusanku]

If you have seen the film "An Education", set in the early 1960s, the car driven by Peter Sarsgaard is a Bristol 405. Looks really good within the context of the film.