Thursday 11th January 2018

Bristol Blenheim: Spotted

A classic flying under the radar, or one for the air crash investigators?

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If you fancy a bespoke British sporting car of good pedigree and rich heritage but find an Aston too louche and a Bentley a bit common, take a look at this Bristol Blenheim. It's either a gentleman's luxury express or a handmade horror, depending on your point of view - and I'm aware that most of you will have clocked the lead image and already made up your mind on that one.

Don't dismiss it lightly, though: this Blenheim 3 is a 5.9-litre Chrysler V8-engined, 150mph, wood and leather-lined, aluminium-bodied four-seater of fighter-pilot class and supreme engineering logic. It's eccentric and, in parts, exquisite - it'll last forever, too. On that last point alone it's probably worth the £50k investment.

Indeed despite the decidedly hands-off PR approach the firm always employed, Bristol cars actually went through a brief period of popularity with a number of celebrities buying in - think Bono, Branson, Paul Smith and Liam Gallagher. On the whole, though, this is a car unlikely to appeal to the teenagers - its owners tend to be sober and discreet individuals and enthusiasts who prize the Bristol's anonymity.

On top of that, the firm went bust a few years ago, after a steady decline in which its expensive and quirky looking cars grew to feel so out of date that not even the most devoted aficionado would touch a new one with a bargepole. Recent attempts by its new owners to revive the brand with the enticing Bullet, and the promise of a new 200mph range-extender, may yet herald a new dawn.

But if time wasn't kind to Bristol, I urge you to be like Yeats and love the pilgrim soul and the sorrows of its changing face. It was once a firm known for its aircraft-industry standards of build and inspection, its engineering innovation and prowess and its beautifully detailed execution. Fully bespoke, too, like a good suit, so you could tailor the driving position or the dampers to your own specification - whatever you found wanting in your car could easily be set right.

This Blenheim 3 is nearing the end of a long line of understated and elegant V8 cars, stretching back to the 1960s, and felicitous details still abound. There's the low centre of gravity and ideal weight distribution, the tight turning circle and excellent steering. It seats four in leathery comfort, and has a huge boot. Its range is long, and its economy is boosted by a cruising gait of 70mph and just 1,700rpm.

Changed your mind yet? No, I thought maybe not.

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SPECIFICATION - BRISTOL BLENHEIM

Engine: 5,900cc, V8
Transmission: 4-speed auto, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 400@6,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 410@3,500rpm
MPG: 16.6
CO2: N/A
First registered: 2002
Mileage: 14,000 miles
Price new: £141,995
Price now: £49,995

See the original advert here

Mark Pearson

[FerdiZ28]

Vauxhall Carlton rear lights? Ugly ungainly thing but strangely very appealing. Screams old money.

[Barchettaman]

Senator rear lights, I think.

FourWheelDrift is the Bristol rear-light resident expert:

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

What a very odd-looking thing. Do they look any better 'in the metal'?

Edited by Barchettaman on Thursday 11th January 09:55

[kambites]

Barchettaman said:

Do they look any better 'in the metal'?

Not really, no.

As above though, they're oddly desirable for something so incredibly ugly.

[V8 FOU]

Bit like the ugly girl who is a brilliant shag....... no, no, don't ask!

For that sort of dosh in that genre I would have a Jensen CV8

[_Sorted_]

Is this the car that Clarkson reviewed for the Sunday Times and said the bumper must have been put on by a horse as a human could not do it that badly? Also, he thought someone had sat on the back seat with a nail gun to attach some of the fittings to the dash?

Edited by _Sorted_ on Thursday 11th January 10:02

[Dave Hedgehog]

_Sorted_ said:

Is this the car that Clarkson reviewed for the Sunday Times and said the bumper must have been put on by a horse as a human could not do it that badly? Also, he thought someone had sat on the back seat with a nail gun to attach some of the fittings to the dash?

Edited by _Sorted_ on Thursday 11th January 10:02

the quality does not look that good from the pics

[BRR]

I want to like it for it being so 'different' but no matter how hard I try I can't, it's just a massive heap of crap

[Funkstar De Luxe]

Holy fk! it's a 2002 car. Looking at it I assumed early 80s. I am astonished that anyone would be interested in this mess, never mind paying £50k for the privilege. This looks worse than something built in a shed.

I am STUNNED.

[TristPerrin]

I'm all for anonymous performance and really like the early Bristol 603, but this is awful, there's no cohesion to the design. It looks like a cheap, poorly put together custom build (which I suppose it is?) just look at the panel fit and finish in the photos.

Also why would one assume it will "last forever"?

[Welshman Adam]

Never ever understood the passion some people have for these. Awful looking. Just look at the slab sides and wheels that look lost in the arches.

It's a no from me.

[akirk]

Funkstar De Luxe said:

Holy fk! it's a 2002 car. Looking at it I assumed early 80s. I am astonished that anyone would be interested in this mess, never mind paying £50k for the privilege. This looks worse than something built in a shed.

I am STUNNED.

yet - look at some of the detail - those chairs are gorgeous - compare it to the e39 M5 of the same age, and these are leagues above in how they look - just not as cohesive a whole

[Davey S2]

BRR said:

I want to like it for it being so 'different' but no matter how hard I try I can't, it's just a massive heap of crap

+1 It has all the ingredients of what should be a fantastic car to own and a company to be a small part of - Handbuilt, powerful, very rare, not ostentatious and a completely mental / eccentric former company owner in Tony Crook.

But just look at it. Its a complete mess. Looks like an expensive Morris Ital.

[Funkstar De Luxe]

TristPerrin said:

Also why would one assume it will "last forever"?

Because it has no other redeeming features, so we must invent one. Also, the owners tend to have enough money to pay someone to look after them. It's a shambles.

[Funkstar De Luxe]

akirk said:

yet - look at some of the detail - those chairs are gorgeous - compare it to the e39 M5 of the same age, and these are leagues above in how they look - just not as cohesive a whole

Agreed, they are nice seats.

[Davey S2]

akirk said:

yet - look at some of the detail - those chairs are gorgeous - compare it to the e39 M5 of the same age, and these are leagues above in how they look - just not as cohesive a whole

'Leagues above in how they look'

Compared to a skip perhaps.

[J4CKO]

Gopping, sorry, but having a yank V8, a name and a bit of wood and leather isnt enough, I like some ungainly cars but this has no redeeming features styling wise, probably lovely to be in and to be fair, when sat in it you largely cant see it.

[loudlashadjuster]

When LJKS was prattling on about the aeronautical engineering in these things I had yet to experience one so was prepared to reserve judgement and admit they may have some hidden charm.

I've now seen and been in a couple and nothing I've seen has changed my mind. It's possible fumes from the glue used in the dash may have gotten to the old boy's brain.

Maybe the really old cars have something going for them, but the 80/90s cars are just...well, look at the photos.

[Krikkit]

Definitely a hard car to love - the colour of that one does it absolutely no favours. Much prefer the look of this one: https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C859696





It's a shame they didn't make more of the Fighter, that was a cracking looking thing to my eye.

[kambites]

Davey S2 said:

But just look at it. Its a complete mess. Looks like an expensive Morris Ital.

I was thinking Marina coupe, myself.

[BRR]

TristPerrin said:

Also why would one assume it will "last forever"?

I guess they're assuming that whatever happens to it, it can't get any worse, even if it melted or dissolved it wouldn't look any worse or be any worse value for money