Forget the Bugatti Veyron........

[Howard]

Nice how you slipped "ho" in there bro. Glad to see it's not just me who's hip and happening around this hood. Respect homey.

I can't believe that some diss our wheels, saying Benzes are boring. I'll pop a cap in tho ass if I catch them. Word up. Wicked.


Anyway ladies and gentlemen let's return to topic, and continue to discuss the merits of one of the finest and quintessentially British marques of them all - Bristol.


(See I can cut it in the hood, and in the golf club)

Fo' Shizzle Rob Dizzle ......

Slightly OT , i was watching MTV Cribs last night and it was hip hop stars, and when they went round a house with 'Trick Daddy' i actually couldn't understand a word he said ..... and i grew up in Wembley , so am usually pretty good at translating hip hop speak ....

 

[scotth_uk]

But it still looks like something somebody made in their shed from old capri/escort parts (with a fiesta engine) that would be advertised in exchange and mart for about £1,495.

I just laughed out loud.

 

[C240Sport97]

age catches up with us all ... including the 'young'

i actually couldn't understand a word he said ..... and i grew up in Wembley , so am usually pretty good at translating hip hop speak ....

 

[Dave Lewis]

Not so sure. Did AC use a Bristol engine, which was a derivative of the pre-war BMW engine? Was not Bristol Cars a fall out from the old Bristol Aeroplane company which got going using the old pre war BMW jigs such that the first Bristol looked remarkably like the pre-war BMW because it was, in effect, the pre war BMW.
Bristol Aeroplane staggered on for a bit. One of their great exploits was the Bristol freighter, a propeller aircraft with a Guppy look. Freddie Laker used them on channel Airways, possibly out of Lydd or maybe Southend to Calais, transporting cars and passengers. I remember using them and it was competitive with the exorbitant Ferry charges in those days.
But somebody said they were ugly. maybe now but the Bristol 401 was a real beauty in its day and even these days it has a special look about it.
And here was the Bristol Bus company. they specialised in what was known as the Lo-Deka, a double decker with a clever top deck gangway that enabled the bus to be reduced in height.

The forunner of the Cobra, the Ace, was available with the Bristol engine, or AC's own. Bristol won their class at Le Mans 3 years running in the mid fifties with the 450. The Bristol Aeroplane Company (they also made the Britannia turbo-prop airliner, known as the whispering Giant) merged with other aircraft manufacturers to form the British Aircraft Corporation, which became British Aerospace, and the site is now Airbus. The engine division merged with Armstrong Siddeley to form Bristol Siddeley Engines, and was eventually taken over by Rolls Royce. Bristol Siddeley's greatest achievement was the Pegasus vectored-thrust engine, conceived, designed, and built in Bristol, which powers the Harrier, and has earned billions for the country in sales and licencing. Bristol Commercial Vehicles carried on into the seventies after briefly being run by Leyland. Lodekkas are still used all over the world. Strongest buses ever made. The Lodekka had the diff tucked away to one side with a complicated off-centre prop shaft to keep the floor level low.
Bristol cars don't photograph well, but look much better in the metal. Most people have never seen one. They are hand-built, with hand-beaten aluminium bodies and separate chassis, which makes them incredibly strong and safe in a crash. 3 deaths while driving a Bristol in 60 years of manufacture is testament to this. They certainly don't look like kit cars. The build quality is streets ahead of cars such as Jensen Interceptors and '60s Astons and Ferraris.
It's a miracle they're still going, and still producing exciting unique cars. Long may they continue.

 

[Howard]

How many have they sold in 60 years ? its all relative ..... you could say 'Ford has had 10000 deaths in 60 years and Bristol only 3 ', but if they have sold 50 million cars , its not a bad average ....

If Bristol have sold 1000 cars in 60 years then 3 is not so great .....

The build quality may be streets ahead of 60's cars , but we are now in the 21st century , is it on a par with cars built in the new millenium ?

You're not wrong its a miracle they're still going ...... even if i was the richest man in the world i still wouldn't buy one , they are just sooooo ugly ..... they just don't cut it with the modern well thought out shapes of cars today ....

 

[scotth_uk]

Bristol cars don't photograph well, but look much better in the metal. Most people have never seen one.

(all very tongue in cheek)

I've been down to their showroom and don't agree. They look just as awful in the metal as they do in a book or magazine.

I do respect what they are, and what they stand for - just amazed that anyone would contemplate such an odd looking car in today's market. I guess the fact that we never see them on the road sums it up - they are not popular in the slightest.

I wonder if the death stat is somewhat skewed by the fact that most Bristols are just sitting in Johnny Toff's driveway all the time.

Howard - I'm beginning to think you and I are the same guy.

 

[Shude]

even if i was the richest man in the world i still wouldn't buy one , they are just sooooo ugly .....

Yes you would!

You'd buy two and have TG play "conkers" with them!

 

[Dave Lewis]

How many have they sold in 60 years ? its all relative ..... you could say 'Ford has had 10000 deaths in 60 years and Bristol only 3 ', but if they have sold 50 million cars , its not a bad average ....

If Bristol have sold 1000 cars in 60 years then 3 is not so great .....

The build quality may be streets ahead of 60's cars , but we are now in the 21st century , is it on a par with cars built in the new millenium ?

Well if we discount the car that was driven over 'a precipice', then the figures are 33.3% better already. Over a period of sixty years, it's still impressive for what is after all a high performance car.
Next time you're in Kensington, pop into the showroom and have a look at some close up. They are very interesting. But beauty is in the eyes of the beholder - for me, engineering elegance is more important than looks. I drive W124's because of the engineering and the driving experience, not because of the looks. But yes, they are easier on the eye than a Bristol
We'll never agree on this Howard, but that's cool. It's all academic for me though - I'll never be able to afford one anyway!

 

[Howard]

Fair enough Dave ....

I drive a w124 for the engineering excellence and the looks ....

Show me something more classic and timeless than a w124 coupe ...

 

[Dave Lewis]

Show me something more classic and timeless than a w124 coupe ...

Well here's something we totally agree on

 

[Benzowner]

Fair enough Dave ....

I drive a w124 for the engineering excellence and the looks ....

Show me something more classic and timeless than a w124 coupe ...

411 series Bristol, could have been what the 124 coupe was based on

 

[Howard]

What , this abomination ?

My eyes my eyes .... quite possibly the worst thing i have ever seen ... i would rather stick hot needles in my eyes than drive one of those ....

An affront to humanity ....

 

[Shude]

What , this abomination ?

My eyes my eyes .... quite possibly the worst thing i have ever seen ... i would rather stick hot needles in my eyes than drive one of those ....

An affront to humanity ....

IIRC that chrome strip on the front wing is directly above some hinges that allow you to open a little door into the engine bay, the battery is hidden in there or something

 

[BonzoDog]

Well if we discount the car that was driven over 'a precipice', then the figures are 33.3% better already. Over a period of sixty years, it's still impressive for what is after all a high performance car.
Next time you're in Kensington, pop into the showroom and have a look at some close up. They are very interesting. But beauty is in the eyes of the beholder - for me, engineering elegance is more important than looks. I drive W124's because of the engineering and the driving experience, not because of the looks. But yes, they are easier on the eye than a Bristol
We'll never agree on this Howard, but that's cool. It's all academic for me though - I'll never be able to afford one anyway!

Agree about the looks. For me it could be my Lotto car (but not the Fighter). Smooth superbly built, nobody knows what it is and everybody ignores it.You could always park one of the ordinary Bristol's anywhere and there's a good chance it wouldn't get keyed, stolen or broken into.

 

[Howard]

IIRC that chrome strip on the front wing is directly above some hinges that allow you to open a little door into the engine bay, the battery is hidden in there or something

Is that a good thing ?

 

[BonzoDog]

What , this abomination ?

My eyes my eyes .... quite possibly the worst thing i have ever seen ... i would rather stick hot needles in my eyes than drive one of those ....

An affront to humanity ....

It just goes to show beauty is in the eyes of the beholder - pins or not. Even the colour is perfect.

 

[BTB 500]

IIRC that chrome strip on the front wing is directly above some hinges that allow you to open a little door into the engine bay, the battery is hidden in there or something

I think that's where the spare wheel is stored, on some Bristols anyway.

 

[Dave Lewis]

IIRC that chrome strip on the front wing is directly above some hinges that allow you to open a little door into the engine bay, the battery is hidden in there or something

There's a lift-up door on both sides, one compartment houses the battery and brake servo, the other side the spare wheel. These compartments are separate from the engine bay. All this weight is between the axles, meaning the car has very little tendancy to yaw at speed and making it a tidy handler on twisty roads. Also means the boot is huge, with the benefit of a full-size spare. Elegant engineering.

I hate to say it, but I think the 411 pictured is very elegant and well-proportioned

 

[Howard]

Aaaaaaaaaaarrrrrgh !!!

 

[BonzoDog]

Aaaaaaaaaaarrrrrgh !!!

It's only a V8 barge.