Bristol Cars in Liquidation
- Thread starter grober
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Teego
MB Enthusiast
And that picture tells you why.
Petrol Pete
Hardcore MB Enthusiast
They were never great, rare for a reason. Still a bit of a shame though. Jensen FF interceptor anyone ?
D
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I see what you did there, very good
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I always liked the subtle eccentricity of Bristol cars. They were a tiny player but the automotive industry will be a poorer place without them and what they represent.
The small (mostly British) niche car manufacturer is a thing of the past, only Morgan seem to be doing well, but they’re probably at the larger end of the small manufacturer scale.
To survive, these niche manufacturers need the backing of a sympathetic major manufacturer to provide platforms, engines, electronic control systems at a reasonable cost.
Wiesmann had such support from BMW but even they went bump 5 or 6 years ago, but for now at least they’re back. BMW seem to be sympathetic to such causes as they also supply Morgan.
Even the larger players need to do the same - use platforms, power trains and co trip systems from other very large players - with Aston Martin using lots of Mercedes bits, and Toyota (Supra) using lots of BMW Z4 bits.
The small (mostly British) niche car manufacturer is a thing of the past, only Morgan seem to be doing well, but they’re probably at the larger end of the small manufacturer scale.
To survive, these niche manufacturers need the backing of a sympathetic major manufacturer to provide platforms, engines, electronic control systems at a reasonable cost.
Wiesmann had such support from BMW but even they went bump 5 or 6 years ago, but for now at least they’re back. BMW seem to be sympathetic to such causes as they also supply Morgan.
Even the larger players need to do the same - use platforms, power trains and co trip systems from other very large players - with Aston Martin using lots of Mercedes bits, and Toyota (Supra) using lots of BMW Z4 bits.
OP
OP
grober
MB Master
Some say the writing was on the wall when Bristol Cars was sold after the parent company joined the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) in 1960 as its aero heritage was an intrinsic part of its identity? Interesting parallels/links to BMW who also had aviation origins
It's kind of a shame. My parents were friends with some diplomats who lived across the street from the showroom.I spent many days as a kid staring through that window.
Talking about Jensen Interceptors, I think I'm going to get mine on the road this year.
Talking about Jensen Interceptors, I think I'm going to get mine on the road this year.
That will solve the issue of oil production over supply at a stroke.
Very niche cars, but I always kinda wanted one! Especially the Fighter T (if they’d ever got it into production):
2006 Bristol Fighter T | Review | SuperCars.net
2006 Bristol Fighter T | Review | SuperCars.net
slade1
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My first MB and BMW in early/mid 1960s they were niche products and very expensive, they had to go mainstream to survive.
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One of my homies has just bought one. I’ll dig up a couple of pics.
As a Bristolian by birth ( my father served his apprenticeship at Bristol Aircraft Corporation during WW2 ) I was sad to see the demise of Bristol cars , but not surprised. They were always a rather quirky marque , and some were downright ugly , often appearing to be designed by two people working independently then grafting the two halves together. Much preferred the very early models to the newer offerings .
Bellow
Hardcore MB Enthusiast
Bristol only turned to making cars when they experienced some downturn in the aircraft business but I can't quite remember what the reason was. Suspect it was the advent of the jet engine when Bristol were heavily committed to piston (especially sleeve valve) engines. Didn't Bristol get rooked by Rolls-Royce over sleeve valve technology (ie, being forced to hand over Fedden's life work to RR by a complicit Air Ministry)?
Those sleeve valve motors were wondrous pieces of engineering. I still resent the jet engine for killing off aero piston engine development.
The original cars were partly designed by a former BMW chief engineer,who was brought to the UK by a director( and pre-war BMW dealer) of the Bristol Aeroplane Company , using some plans from the bombed BMW Munich factory ( hence the "double oval" grille on the 400 model ) in 1946 .
BAC actually made cars and bus bodies for other companies between the first and second world war , ie, Bristol buses , due to having over-capacity on aircraft production. My maternal grandfather worked "in the garage" at BAC , though I am not sure whether this was the car or aircraft division. I still have his engraved watch from his retirement in 1956 . I think for reasons unclear , Bristol cars switched from their own engines to Buick sometime during the 1950`s , and maybe your recollection of RR gaining dominance over their technology was correct, Bristol of course being the home of RR engines for aircraft. The Filton/Patchway factories were heavily bombed in ww2 so there was a certain irony in BMW`s designs landing up there.
Very sad to see what was once a huge manufacturing area gone to waste.
BAC actually made cars and bus bodies for other companies between the first and second world war , ie, Bristol buses , due to having over-capacity on aircraft production. My maternal grandfather worked "in the garage" at BAC , though I am not sure whether this was the car or aircraft division. I still have his engraved watch from his retirement in 1956 . I think for reasons unclear , Bristol cars switched from their own engines to Buick sometime during the 1950`s , and maybe your recollection of RR gaining dominance over their technology was correct, Bristol of course being the home of RR engines for aircraft. The Filton/Patchway factories were heavily bombed in ww2 so there was a certain irony in BMW`s designs landing up there.
Very sad to see what was once a huge manufacturing area gone to waste.
Benzmanc
MB Enthusiast
and most of it will end up on the garage floor
Bellow
Hardcore MB Enthusiast
The six cylinder car engine was a BMW with a pretty trick valve arrangement using pushrods so not quite a Bristol engine. Later they used Chrysler V8s (and Torquflite auto boxes) I think. Were Buick units used in between? It would have been the Chrysler affiliation that saw the Viper's V10 installed in the Fighter.
The RR stitch up was pre WW2 IIRC. Fedden - under Ricardo's influence - had developed sleeve valve engines and had perfected them after long hours of development. RR embarked on developing their own and of course encountered the same problems Fedden had. With WW2 looming someone facilitated Bristol sharing their knowledge with RR, in essence just handing everything over. Or at least I think that's what happened but it's a while since I've read about it and I could be confusing Bristol with Napier. For sure, RR played a part in at least one of them going to the wall.
