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[Mysteryman]

.....a bristol. You can't, they've gone bust.

[unlucky alf]

I thought they only came in pairs.

[tonyyeb]

Distinctive but bizarrely ugly cars of late.

The 400 thru 412 are lovely tho - would really like one of those.....

[Mr Skrunts]

They were trying to produce this.

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&xhr=t&q=bristol%20fighter%20t&cp=17&um=1&biw=896&bih=395&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=iw

[Lizzie_Zoom]

Blimey, I thought they went ages ago!

A chap in our road in Thornbury, Bristol, when we lived there had a Bristol, with a number plate 100 MPH 8-) 8-)

It was an ugly thing!

[tidla]

dont know what they look like but must be a thing for small sports car builders.

[V6 CDX-er]

Blimey, I thought they went ages ago!

A chap in our road in Thornbury, Bristol, when we lived there had a Bristol, with a number plate 100 MPH 8-) 8-)

It was an ugly thing!

I'm not quite sure who your neighbor was, but 100 MPH was Bristol's factory plate.

[Lizzie_Zoom]

Blimey, I thought they went ages ago!

A chap in our road in Thornbury, Bristol, when we lived there had a Bristol, with a number plate 100 MPH 8-) 8-)

It was an ugly thing!

I'm not quite sure who your neighbor was, but 100 MPH was Bristol's factory plate.

Never knew that!

Well the chap lived a few doors down in our "executive" road, and it is quite possible he was a manager or director of the company.  It was on his drive when not being used for years!

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

408.....409 ....410....411 were all bespoke elegant cars .

The 412 was an abortion....totally devoid of style. I believe Bristol even sourced the door handles from a Morris Marina. F**k it was an ugly bas*ard... :-/

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

Blimey, I thought they went ages ago!

A chap in our road in Thornbury, Bristol, when we lived there had a Bristol, with a number plate 100 MPH 8-) 8-)

It was an ugly thing!

I'm not quite sure who your neighbor was, but 100 MPH was Bristol's factory plate.

Never knew that!

Well the chap lived a few doors down in our "executive" road, and it is quite possible he was a manager or director of the company.  It was on his drive when not being used for years!

Would you class yourself as "posh totty".....Lizzie?.....

[Lizzie_Zoom]

Blimey, I thought they went ages ago!

A chap in our road in Thornbury, Bristol, when we lived there had a Bristol, with a number plate 100 MPH 8-) 8-)

It was an ugly thing!

I'm not quite sure who your neighbor was, but 100 MPH was Bristol's factory plate.

Never knew that!

Well the chap lived a few doors down in our "executive" road, and it is quite possible he was a manager or director of the company.  It was on his drive when not being used for years!

Would you class yourself as "posh totty".....Lizzie?.....

I dare not answer that Opti!!

[Mysteryman]

Blimey, I thought they went ages ago!

A chap in our road in Thornbury, Bristol, when we lived there had a Bristol, with a number plate 100 MPH 8-) 8-)

It was an ugly thing!

I'm not quite sure who your neighbor was, but 100 MPH was Bristol's factory plate.

Never knew that!

Well the chap lived a few doors down in our "executive" road, and it is quite possible he was a manager or director of the company.  It was on his drive when not being used for years!

Would you class yourself as "posh totty".....Lizzie?.....

No. They were all car thieves.

[Dishevelled Den]

Very sad news indeed.

I met Tony Crook (the force behind the marquee until just a few years ago) back in 1982 when he interviewed me about the potential purchase of one of the 411 series.

At that time he was very fussy about selling these cars and it is alleged that he would not sell one to anyone he hadn't vetted previously.

There may be more that a grain of truth to that as he seemed to keep the showroom door locked - as a matter of course.

During the course of our talk a respectable looking man tried to get in but couldn't despite knocking rather loudly on the door.  As we were sitting at a desk in full view of the door it must have been quite obvious to this man that we were aware of his presence and, as the time passed without his gaining entry, the knocking became ever more urgent.

I asked Crook if he would like me to open the door only to be told with great conviction that I should not as he 'Didn't like the look of him'.

Crook was a very interesting man - a former RAF pilot and racing driver, he loved these cars with a passion and even insisted on demonstrating the benefits of their Avon safety rims by deliberately blowing out one of the front tyres (by explosive charge) when driving at 100 mph while being observed by a number of journalists. .

The car stayed on course and he was able to bring it to a halt without drama.

I was working in Belfast at the time and when the letter arrived advising me that he had located a 1975 411MKV in Ivory White, full history and 99,000 miles priced at £6,999 (no negotiation expected) I was overjoyed.

I had to book some time off to come over to town to finalise the arrangements but on explaining the reason for the mission someone took me to one side and suggested that the appearance of a large white unusual looking car on the streets of Belfast and around various security installations at a particularly delicate time was, perhaps, a bad idea.

I hadn't thought this thought of course and, as I had no other means of stabling this machine, the entire project took on one of wishful thinking in the face of harsh reality.

I had to write to Crook explaining the reasons for my rejecting the car - a thing I've regretted ever since.

Some shots of a 411 MK VI
 

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

Speaking of ultra rare motor cars like the Bristol. Does anyone recall the Gordon Keeble?

In some ways it was similar to the Bristol. Hand made with a big american V8 up front. (Chevrolet instead of Chrysler I believe)

[Dishevelled Den]

Speaking of ultra rare motor cars like the Bristol. Does anyone recall the Gordon Keeble?

In some ways it was similar to the Bristol. Hand made with a big american V8 up front. (Chevrolet instead of Chrysler I believe)

I remember it well Opti - although there was a limited production run in the mid-sixties from what I recall.

This was another fairly large 2 door sports saloon from a time when some formidable car manufacturing capability remained in existence in the UK.

The 'Chinese eye' head light arrangement really suited the car.

I'm not sure if Keeble used a stock Chevrolet unit but Bristol modified the heads on the Chrysler units they used.  The capacity of the units on the 411 series varied between just over 5 litres to 6 and a half litres with some later variants (after the 411) helped by a Rootes turbocharger and a lower engine capacity of just under 6 litres.