Luxury coachbuilder Bristol Cars will return in time for its 80th anniversary as it sets out plans to launch its first new model in more than a decade, arriving in 2026.
But while many motorists will love the automaker’s post-World War II reboot, some might be put off by the new direction the storied brand has decided to take.
Because Bristol Cars has announced that within two years it will be a ‘British electric vehicle company’.
Luxury coachbuilder Bristol Cars will return in time for its 80th anniversary, after announcing plans to launch its first new model in 2026.
“We are reviving Bristol Cars as a 21st century British electric vehicle company in time for the 80th year of its founding,” the company said on its new website.
The image uploaded to the social model suggests that the first production car will be a retro-style coupe that will largely resemble Bristol’s 411 car from the 1970s, with two-tone paint (potentially grey/white), chrome accents and updated vertical slit headlights.
In a fairly low-key return to manufacturing and the public’s attention, Bristol Cars announced its resurrection via social media.
CEO Jason Wharton posted on LinkedIn that the company’s vision is to “revive Bristol Cars as a contemporary coachbuilder for connoisseurs of luxury grand tourers and experiences around the world in time for the founding’s 80th anniversary.” of the brand in 2026″.
With very little to suggest what will come off the Bristol assembly line, the only visual clue to go on at the moment is a single concept sketch.
The image uploaded to the social model suggests that the first production car will be a retro-style coupe that will largely resemble Bristol’s 411 car from the 1970s, with two-tone paint (potentially grey/white), chrome accents and updated vertical slit headlights.
One LinkedIn commenter asked if the new limited-edition Bristol Fighter “will be electric, hybrid, or old-school fossil fuel.”
Wharton responded: ‘all three media over time, but in reverse order!’ So far, that’s our only clue as to what propulsion systems will be used.
But if the new Bristol Cars stays true to its heritage, the quality should be exceptional.
A very brief history of Bristol Cars
The 400, along with the Jaguar XK120, became the sports cars of the time. Freddie Gordon-Lennox, the 9th Duke of Richmond, opened Goodwood Circuit on 18 September 1948 in his 400
Bristol Cars was founded in 1945 and launched its first model, the BMW-derived Bristol 400 2+2 fixed-head coupe.
A subsidiary of the British Airplane Company, Bristol Cars was born from a chance meeting of minds between the directors of Frazer Nash and the directors of Bristol Airplane, and Bristol’s rapid acquisition of Frazer Nash.
Bristol Cars wanted to build high-quality sports cars, and the introduction of the 400 at the Geneva Motor Show in February 1947 was met with international acclaim.
The 400, along with the Jaguar XK120, became the sports cars of the time.
Freddie Gordon-Lennox, 9th Duke of Richmond, opened Goodwood Circuit on 18 September 1948 in his 400th.
The 40s, 50s and early 60s saw the succession of the 401, 403 and 404 (the first to have the aerodynamic Bristol Jet type air intake), 405 and 406, the last Bristol to have its own six-cylinder engine . engine.
In 1960 Bristol Cars became independent and was sold.
In 1973, president and founder George White, who had suffered an accident on his 401 in 1969, decided to sell his majority interest to Bristol dealer Tony Crook.
Crook’s Bristol Cars produced six models with aeronautical names, including the Beaufighter, Blenheim, Britannia and Brigand.
Following Crook’s decision to sell 50 percent to Toby Silverton, Bristol Cars began producing Speedster, Bullet, Blenheim and 411 Series 6, until full ownership was acquired by Silverton and Tavistock Group in 2002.
In 2011, Bristol went into administration and the Filton factory closed.
In 1960 Bristol Cars became independent and was sold. In 1973, president and founder George White, who had suffered an accident on his 401 in 1969, decided to sell his majority interest to Bristol dealer Tony Crook.
In March 2020, Bristol went into liquidation by court order and in 2021 the intellectual property was purchased and registered by now CEO Jason Wharton.
Until 2015, the company only restored older Bristol models, when it announced a petrol hybrid ‘Project Pinnacle’. However, although a prototype appeared at the 2016 Goodwood Festival of Speed, the planned 70 examples were never built.
In March 2020, Bristol went into liquidation by court order and in 2021 the intellectual property was purchased and registered by now CEO Jason Wharton.
However, some questions remain about rights, as liquidation professionals said in 2021: “We can categorically state that while (Jason Wharton) has purchased certain tools and spare parts at an auction of the company’s assets, he has not purchased no IPR (intellectual property rights).’
However, that hasn’t stopped Wharton from going public with the revival of Bristol Cars ‘8.0’, so let’s hope everything gets sorted before the order books for new models open.
The love for Bristol Cars – is it still going strong?
Initial reactions have shown that there is still a lot of love for the old British brand.
“Very exciting, there’s something very special about a Bristol,” while another said it’s “a brand that has always exuded quality, style, imagination and class’.
‘My father once took me to the Bristol showroom in London and the salesman asked us to come in simply so he would stop smearing the windows with his hands and face pressed against the glass. Bristol has always been synonymous with innovation and engineering genius.
However, there have been concerns about the time scales and some design elements.
“I really hope you can make this happen, the schedule seems very tight, but we’ll keep our fingers crossed for you.”
One user isn’t convinced about the ‘greenhouse’, saying: ‘That certainly modernizes the classic look of the 411 (a good thing), but there’s something jarring about the greenhouse in my opinion.’
But general nostalgia seems to be winning: ‘When I was a child I dreamed of one day owning a Bristol Beaufighter. Good luck reliving a dream!’
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