Bristol is back!

History repeats as Bristol's new owners confirm BMW power for 'Project Pinnacle'

The first Bristol to be produced since the company was revived 2011 will be powered by a BMW engine, this confirmation from the new management proving they at least know their history. The new car, known only as Project Pinnacle, will go on sale near the end of the year and will be a very low volume, halo car designed to reintroduce the brand before bringing slightly more accessible models.

The new owners Kamkorp were very tight-lipped on details when PistonHeads spoke to one of the directors, Sheban Siddiqi. But he did hint that this BMW engine is a full-blooded powerplant rather a smaller unit mated to a hybrid drivetrain, which is how the project was initially described.

"The future of Bristol is away from traditional powerplants to range-extended engines. However, this 70th anniversary car is different from long term projects," he told us. "This is something very special, there's not going to be 100s on the roads. It's a celebratory model."

We say they know their history because, as Bristol buffs know, the original cars built after the Second World War were pretty much rebadged BMWs after the owners travelled to Munich to buy the rights to BMW models and the 328 engine. That was a six-cylinder 2.0-litre and, given confirmation it won't be a hybrid with a three-cylinder petrol motor like the BMW i8, it would be nice if this is a six-cylinder at least.

Bristol has never really entered the modern age - the Fighter from 2004 wasn't a success and the company had gone into bankruptcy before Kamkorp bought it. You'd be brave to take a punt on this incarnation working but Kamkorp has fulfilled its automotive promises so far. It also owns Frazer Nash, which is another name from Bristol's past - Frazer Nash was the car company that Bristol Cars parent company Bristol Aeroplane Company bought when it wanted to get into the automotive business back in 1945.

Frazer Nash also owns London cab maker Metrocab, which against all odds has successfully put its gawky-looking, range-extended battery-powered taxi on London's streets on a trial basis and last week announced full-scale production. That car is being made in Coventry by contract maker Multimatic, which also builds low-volume cars for Aston Martin such as the Lagonda Taraf saloon. Siddiqi wouldn't commit to saying they would build Project Pinnacle but said it was an option - a highly likely one, you'd have to say.

There's even a new Bristol showroom coming, somewhat bizarrely being built opposite the aspic-preserved dealer in Kensington said to be staying complete with its basement shrine to Bristol of old, as preserved by curmudgeonly former owner Tony Crook. A gleaming new Bristol roaming the streets would be a lovely thing, but could the financials ever be made to work?

[Sources: Autocar, Bristol Cars]

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