Bristol brought back from the brink
Enthusiast rescues olde worlde car-maker from bankruptcy, focusing on restomods before all-new modelBristol Cars has been brought back from the dead after the famous British sports car-maker was liquidated last year.
The 76-year-old brand famous for its aviation-inspired hand-built luxury cars was snapped up by Jason Wharton, a property developer and Bristol enthusiast who plans to restructure the company into a business that will initially restore and sell classic Bristols.
As part of its revival, Bristol will move from its Kensington High Street location in London back to its home city of Bristol in the West Country.
Speaking to Autocar, Wharton said Bristol would concentrate on offering 'remastered' or restomod versions of the Bristol Fighter two-seater and the 411 before launching an all-new model in 2025.
The new sports car, set to be named the Buccaneer, will be "very much in the traditional Bristol mould" but make extensive use of modern tech and advanced materials.
Purchasing the remains of the liquidated car-maker has given its new owner access to original designs, tolling and spare parts that will enable Bristol to improve and modernise existing models, if there's demand.
Part of the updates for the Bristol 411, for example, involve replacing its ancient rear live axle with a completely independent set-up.
Owners of both the 411 and even the V10-powered Fighter can also take up Bristol's offer of replacing their current powertrain with a Chrysler-sourced 6.4-litre HEMI V8 that's combined with a more modern eight-speed automatic.
Bristol will begin building and developing remastered versions of the 411 and Fighter prototypes before the end of 2021.
There's no word yet on the new Bristol Buccaneer, although it's tipped to maintain the six-decade-long tradition of Bristols using a Chrysler-sourced V8, suggesting it could be powered by a Hellcat powertrain – if still available in 2025.
Despite the impending UK combustion ban set to be introduced in 2030, Wharton told the Brit mag that he was "relaxed" about the potential of developing a V8-powered Bristol as the car-maker's current loyal base of customers have indicated their interest in such a vehicle.
Bristol's new owner also believes suitable donor hybrid and EV powertrains will also become available in the near future.
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