Discussion
Balmoral Green said:
Much as I love the things, I really don't get why it is, that with the cost of them, the exclusivity, and the fantastic build quality, the panels and swage lines just don't seem to line through, why? Hand tooled, and yet they manage to look like they are crudely made from a few layers of GRP like some £1200 kit car body.
Is it 'character'? 
I find the Blenheim strangely alluring. I'm getting tweedy dog with a hint of pipe smoke and a certain amount of suit that I had the butler wear in for ten years.
If I was minted and wanted a GT this is where I'd go.
Trommel said:
I have a 603 and love it.
No-one is forcing you to like them.
Trommel there are loads of questions I could ask as it is rare to find an owner, so I would appreciate any time you could spare..No-one is forcing you to like them.
Could you please let us know more about these cars.
Were you looking for that car when you bought it?
From an owners point of view what are they like?
Do you use it as a daily drive?
Do you have a PH sticker on it, and if so what sort? (We have the gold one.)
I recently pressed my nose against the window of the tiny showroom and ogled the fighter until the people I was with got bored waiting for me. It has that 'something' for sure, like a great cast iron anvil in a hand-sewn kid glove. Take that you fiend. No silly spoliers and ducts and not seven feet wide but looks like it could do damage. Even in orange! If I was a rich man.. yadda yadda...
There is some 60s Bristol with a Zagato body which is utterly gorgous, saw it in a classic mag and fell in love. Belonged to some retired air force chap with handlebar face furniture who reportedly turned down £200,000 for it (it was the classic car boom years though).
There is some 60s Bristol with a Zagato body which is utterly gorgous, saw it in a classic mag and fell in love. Belonged to some retired air force chap with handlebar face furniture who reportedly turned down £200,000 for it (it was the classic car boom years though).
Have to agree - apart from the Fighter, they look like kit cars and the ones I have seen up close are pretty awful in panel gaps and the like.
If their purpose is to waft oneself and a lady friend with luggage to the Continent, I put forward the CL500/S500 coupe from Mercedes Benz circa 1997 (just so all on a level playing field in terms of age). A fraction of the cost, all the performance (they go like stink), last of the tanks before DC went all penny pinching and exceptionally comfortable and quiet.
The head of Bugatti used to carry on with that patriarchal nonsense too, in that he had to 'approve' the buyers of an EB110. 2 years later - company gone. I don't understand it really - if Donald Duck wants to buy my very expensive, low volume car, then I'll paint it white with a yellow beak if he wants it!
If their purpose is to waft oneself and a lady friend with luggage to the Continent, I put forward the CL500/S500 coupe from Mercedes Benz circa 1997 (just so all on a level playing field in terms of age). A fraction of the cost, all the performance (they go like stink), last of the tanks before DC went all penny pinching and exceptionally comfortable and quiet.
The head of Bugatti used to carry on with that patriarchal nonsense too, in that he had to 'approve' the buyers of an EB110. 2 years later - company gone. I don't understand it really - if Donald Duck wants to buy my very expensive, low volume car, then I'll paint it white with a yellow beak if he wants it!
XB70 said:
If their purpose is to waft oneself and a lady friend with luggage to the Continent, I put forward the CL500/S500 coupe from Mercedes Benz circa 1997 (just so all on a level playing field in terms of age). A fraction of the cost, all the performance (they go like stink), last of the tanks before DC went all penny pinching and exceptionally comfortable and quiet.
And ten-a-penny on the Autobahn. So many people berating Bristol cars and yet this is a British luxury car maker that seems to be surviving quite happily by doing its own thing - surely this is something to be celebrated, not derided? If you don't get it, fine, but surely any petrolhead appreciates the continued existence of Bristol Cars? I personally don't get the adulation many hold for BMW and Porsche, but appreciate the part they play in moving the game on for saloon and sports cars.ewenm said:
XB70 said:
If their purpose is to waft oneself and a lady friend with luggage to the Continent, I put forward the CL500/S500 coupe from Mercedes Benz circa 1997 (just so all on a level playing field in terms of age). A fraction of the cost, all the performance (they go like stink), last of the tanks before DC went all penny pinching and exceptionally comfortable and quiet.
And ten-a-penny on the Autobahn. So many people berating Bristol cars and yet this is a British luxury car maker that seems to be surviving quite happily by doing its own thing - surely this is something to be celebrated, not derided? If you don't get it, fine, but surely any petrolhead appreciates the continued existence of Bristol Cars? I personally don't get the adulation many hold for BMW and Porsche, but appreciate the part they play in moving the game on for saloon and sports cars.clonmult said:
ewenm said:
XB70 said:
If their purpose is to waft oneself and a lady friend with luggage to the Continent, I put forward the CL500/S500 coupe from Mercedes Benz circa 1997 (just so all on a level playing field in terms of age). A fraction of the cost, all the performance (they go like stink), last of the tanks before DC went all penny pinching and exceptionally comfortable and quiet.
And ten-a-penny on the Autobahn. So many people berating Bristol cars and yet this is a British luxury car maker that seems to be surviving quite happily by doing its own thing - surely this is something to be celebrated, not derided? If you don't get it, fine, but surely any petrolhead appreciates the continued existence of Bristol Cars? I personally don't get the adulation many hold for BMW and Porsche, but appreciate the part they play in moving the game on for saloon and sports cars.ewenm said:
clonmult said:
ewenm said:
XB70 said:
If their purpose is to waft oneself and a lady friend with luggage to the Continent, I put forward the CL500/S500 coupe from Mercedes Benz circa 1997 (just so all on a level playing field in terms of age). A fraction of the cost, all the performance (they go like stink), last of the tanks before DC went all penny pinching and exceptionally comfortable and quiet.
And ten-a-penny on the Autobahn. So many people berating Bristol cars and yet this is a British luxury car maker that seems to be surviving quite happily by doing its own thing - surely this is something to be celebrated, not derided? If you don't get it, fine, but surely any petrolhead appreciates the continued existence of Bristol Cars? I personally don't get the adulation many hold for BMW and Porsche, but appreciate the part they play in moving the game on for saloon and sports cars.My Capri has a German engine (in fact the whole car was made in chermany). But for some reason it's still 'British'.
Components dont really matter. I have a British valve amplifier with Mesa Boogie valves (ie top grade US gear - but the valves are actually Chinese). Much like a Bristols components are multinational. Morgan use BMW engines.
Sometimes identity is not obvious from it's parts.
Jderh said:
Also, the line in the bodywork that runs from the back of the car to the front on the above picture doesn't meet up at the door/wing point.
possibly something to do with the storeage compartments in the wings...
spare wheel in one, battery and fuse box in the other
and leaves a large boot.
(this pic of the LPG version with 2x 40ltrs tanks in each side.)
williamp said:
I do agree about the panel gaps, etc. If Aston can make limited numbers of cars with perfect panel gaps, there is no reason why Bristol cannot.
Aston had Ford's money to make their bodyshells, Bristol don't.Same for the gear lever gate on the previous page, Jaguar spent 2 years and six figures tooling theirs (with Ford's money) They're going to sell hundreds of thousands of cars to make that money back, Bristol aren't so they've got to be a bit creative with the parts bin.
I'd love to own a '60s Bristol but I'd probably bottle it and get a Jensen 541 instead. How vulgar
I "get" them, but still hate them with a passion after my conversation with a representative from Bristol at the FOS 2 or 3 years ago about the fighter they had brought along.
The sooner they disappear, the better. Or the sooner the weirdo MD pops off, maybe they'll become something worth talking about.
Come on, £150 odd grand on a Blenheim. £150k?? Eccentric they may be, but you'd be a total and complete mug to accept the quality of them.
THEY. LOOK. CHEAP. I couldnt give a toss if they were handbuilt, handbuilt doesnt mean good necessarily. Look at the gearshifter on them. Are they taking the piss or what? Half an hour in a scrap yard would yield better quality.
The sooner they disappear, the better. Or the sooner the weirdo MD pops off, maybe they'll become something worth talking about.
Come on, £150 odd grand on a Blenheim. £150k?? Eccentric they may be, but you'd be a total and complete mug to accept the quality of them.
THEY. LOOK. CHEAP. I couldnt give a toss if they were handbuilt, handbuilt doesnt mean good necessarily. Look at the gearshifter on them. Are they taking the piss or what? Half an hour in a scrap yard would yield better quality.
garethj said:
williamp said:
I do agree about the panel gaps, etc. If Aston can make limited numbers of cars with perfect panel gaps, there is no reason why Bristol cannot.
Aston had Ford's money to make their bodyshells, Bristol don't.Same for the gear lever gate on the previous page, Jaguar spent 2 years and six figures tooling theirs (with Ford's money) They're going to sell hundreds of thousands of cars to make that money back, Bristol aren't so they've got to be a bit creative with the parts bin.
I'd love to own a '60s Bristol but I'd probably bottle it and get a Jensen 541 instead. How vulgar
You are right with the parts bin- Aston, Bristol, Lotus, Ferrari etc have all had to be creative with thier parts supplies. If an aircon system works and looks good, who cares if its originally from a jaguar.
williamp said:
Aston only had Fords money after 87. Before then, they were still beating aluminum panels with millimeter precision, and their cars usually cost a similar amount to Bristol. And Aston always made their own engine, which was more expensive then buying one in.
But... Jagwaar could always spread their body tooling cost over hundreds of thousands of cars. Bristol can't. And before 1987 I don't remember their panel fit being anything to write home about. The pools of water in the footwell, yesEngine building is an expensive business but not compared with body tooling. For a small volume manufacturer, once you've paid for a dozen smallish tools and got a foundry to cast the bits for you the rest is machining and assembly. I dread to think how much the body tools for a car cost but I imagine something big like a floorpan is north of a million quid.
By comparison, Bristol have a man called Eric wearing a brown store coat who uses the same hammer that the factory bought in 1946. If Eric's having an off day then the final assembly chap will have to fettle the door a bit, that's the reality of "hand made". Hand made hasn't been better than machine made for some years now
TIGA84 said:
Or the sooner the weirdo MD pops off, maybe they'll become something worth talking about.
If you mean Tony Crook, the characterful boss of many years, he sold the company several years ago to new investors, but stayed on until earlier this year, since when he has parted company with the firm. They would only have been at FoS since the new guy took over I believe.I have an old Bristol, and love it. It gets plenty of use, about 10k a year as a second car, and the only reason I don't have a new Blenheim on the drive is that I don't have the spare cash to get one... The Blenheim is not for everyone, but they have a ready market and the people who buy them are usually very happy. I wouldn't buy a whizz-bang supercar even if I had all the tea in China, but thankfully Bristol exist to provide an alternative.
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