Subject: Time:12:39 PM
OFFICE MEMO Bristol Date:10/12/93
A Bristol.
> Looks to be early/mid-50's, RHD, styling typical of coupes of the era,
> and a bit shy of concours condition. What is the history and lineage
> of this marque? I assume it's not a total redesign but a repackaging
> of other maker's components...
>
>I really don't know a lot about this company other than its name,
Bristol Air Craft Company, the fact that it did manufacture automobiles,
and that it supplied AC Cars with one of the better engines to power the
Ace and Aceca. Bristol acquired the rights to build this innovative
engine from BMW after WW II. I've heard two versions of this story.
One, that this was war reparations and two, that BMW was looking for
export markets after the war and licensed the rights to Bristol as a
means of furthering this end. My guess is that both versions are true.
Any way, Bristol used this engine in their own cars, as well.
My tuppence: My reference says Frazer Nash had a finger in the pie as well,
being the pre-war BMW concessionaire for Britain, but this partnership split
up. The BMW-designed engine was converted to British screw threads. Bristols
were considered top quality, building their own bodies and chassis (remember
they were familiar with aircraft), but high priced and slow compared to market
competitors like Jaguar. For styling, imagine the Aston-Martin DB2/4, the AC
Greyhound, the Bentley Continental R, and Colombo's Peugeot 403 all rolled into
one. The book says that Bristol used the BMW based engine til about 1961 and
then went to Chrysler engines and automatic transmissions. It also implies they
are still made in small numbers as a business man's express.
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