Thursday 14th November 2013

Bristol Fighter: Spotted

The last one ever registered, and a fair amount less than it was new as well

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Once upon a time we featured the first Bristol Fighter, the 2006 Goodwood FoS show car, as a YKYWT. And now, rather fortuitously for a feature, we have the last registered car for sale, just two years and 1,100 miles old.

Ta-dah!

The Fighter was a curio in best Bristol fashion; the gullwing doors making it a unique prospect until the Mercedes SLS came along and that V10 offered a driving experience unlike anything else (the Dodge lump was overhauled by Bristol before going into the Fighter). The USP of the huge engine was that it produced 350lb ft of its torque peak from idle, making it effortless to clock up some numbers on the engine hours dial.

Bristol never aimed its cars at the mainstream, producing cars firmly entrenched in the left field. That the cars didn't appeal to the conventional supercar buyer undoubtedly contributed to its downfall, but makes it rather beguiling as a secondhand oddball. It's a horrible cliche, but to answer the 'So what are you driving then?' question with 'A Bristol Fighter' would surely be very cool indeed.

It's just full of intriguing little details. In a Bristol, dials in the roof are legitimate nod to an aviation past because the same techniques were used in building its cars. The switchgear was made to military-grade standard to last the lifetime of the car. So much money was spent doing so that Bristol could only afford a cheap, off-the-shelf stereo (that may not be true). And those seats must have their origins in planes, as we've never seen anything like that in a road car.

It's a 210mph car apparently

Thanks to its 0.28Cd and (relatively) light 1,500kg kerbweight, the Fighter is a 200mph car. 210mph in fact, putting it right up with the supercar elite. We're not sure that figure has ever been independently verified though, but it would surely be an experience to find out...

It came as a surprise to discover that this Fighter, one of only six in Britain, barely run-in and an integral part of Bristol's history, has fallen in value. What was a £230,000 car new is now for sale at £160K, so the fear would be that figure would only fall further.

But really, if a Bristol is for you, such trivial concerns as depreciation don't matter. Its appeal is in its eccentricity, something that none of its contemporary or current rivals could ever match. For some, that may just be enough.

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BRISTOL FIGHTER
Engine: 7,990cc V10
Transmission: Six-speed manual, rear-wheel drive, limited-slip differential
Power (hp): 532@5,500rpm
Torque (lb ft): 525@4,200rpm
MPG: Not many
CO2: Rather a lot, probably
Recorded mileage: 1,100
First registered: 2011
Price new: £235,000
Yours for: £159,950

See the original advert here.

 

 

 

[anonymous-user]

If you can, then you must.

[will_]

Original thread here:

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[B10]

Underrated car imho. It would be part of my dream garage alongside an FI. Practical supercars.

[300bhp/ton]

Fantastic looking car!!! Def on my lotto win list. I'll take mine in that metallic burnt orange please.

[tannedstamina]

Looks terrible in my opinion - clunky and like a kitcar!

[P4ROT]

So, so cool

[storminnorman]

I've been dawdling past the showroom for a while now and I'm still yet to see it
Does look nice I think, really like that rear

[MonteV]

I would have liked to have seen some real high speed testing of the Fighter's claimed top speed to see what it was like. I like the narrowness, the tiny size for a V10 car, the slipperiness, the GT sized boot, nice cabin and steering wheel details.

[metalsteve]

I once saw one of these driving through Martin's Heron near Bracknell, Blue i belive. Certainly a head turner!

So are bristol cars dead and buried or still going in some form?

[saaby93]

tannedstamina said:

Looks terrible in my opinion - clunky and like a kitcar!

Supra front , Marcos rear?

[storminnorman]

metalsteve said:

I once saw one of these driving through Martin's Heron near Bracknell, Blue i belive. Certainly a head turner!

So are bristol cars dead and buried or still going in some form?

I believe at the moment it's very much a skeleton operation dealing in used sales/parts/restorations, but they're clinging on

[Neil G60]

I just can't believe that the man who penned that car put his pencil down and thought 'Yes, I'm proud of that, that looks great'

It's just so horrific to look at

[SiH]

How much?!
From the picture I thought this was the Shed Of The Week thread.

Bristol really did lose the plot in the 80s with their super-Capri; they should have stuck to the old designs. It would be lovely to waft around in an old 402.

[300bhp/ton]

Neil G60 said:

I just can't believe that the man who penned that car put his pencil down and thought 'Yes, I'm proud of that, that looks great'

It's just so horrific to look at

No accounting for taste and style I guess. And I'm very glad some designers don't think an Audi A3 S-line is the pinnacle of design language.

[rohrl]

I had a poke around the Bristol Fighter at Goodwood a few years back and wasn’t at all impressed with the general fit and finish of the car, particularly the interior. It reminded me of the stories of Lamborghini Miura buyers who had their cars delivered straight to an upholsterer to put in a half-decent interior. The Bristol certainly didn’t look anything like a £200,000+ product.

[Devil2575]

Neil G60 said:

I just can't believe that the man who penned that car put his pencil down and thought 'Yes, I'm proud of that, that looks great'

It's just so horrific to look at

It's not horrific but it's not anywhere near as nice to look at as the asking price would suggest it should be.

It's like a not so nice looking TVR and I suspect that if it didn't have a Bristol badge on it people would be a lot less complimentary.

[Devil2575]

300bhp/ton said:

No accounting for taste and style I guess.

There speaks the man that taste forgot...

[300bhp/ton]

The thing I don't get. Is how can you buy a car and use it so little???

1100 miles in over two years?

At best 46 miles/month.

But lets not forget the depreciation of £75,050 that's a rather mind boggling £68/mile

[tleefox]

metalsteve said:

So are bristol cars dead and buried or still going in some form?

Bristol Cars as it was is no longer. A load of engineers who worked for the company set up on their own specialising in restoration and maintenance of the few cars that are on the road, as someone else has said.

I do not believe Bristol Cars, as it was, will produce any new cars.

[renaultgeek]

bit of an mx5 look to it. But I do love mx5s. Now to put gullwing doors and a v10 into mine.