'You remember the chap was well dressed, but you could not remember the details'. Also, because the details belongs to the owner in quiet privacy, I might add. How could one better define change. Beautiful, thank you.
@@watsisbuttndo829 Remember reading his column in Car magazine back in the late 80's, couldn't make head nor tails of it, alas, I was only 8yrs of age. Quite a character...
Funny to see the production team all wearing ties. My Dad was in a coach building company in Switzerland during the Fifties. Pictures show that the entire team was wearing their ties. Nowadays it is hard to imagine a guy hammering and welding on a car with a tie on. That shows how proud and committed those workers were. An how much higher the quality of the exclusive cars was back in the day. I like the classy British cars of the old days. But I must admit I come from a family who drove mainly Italian cars: Alfa Romeos, Maseratis and such. In my region they had 4 different coach building companies. All of their former locacions can be reached in less than 20 minutes. A lot of the cars they built their bodies for were British: Alvis, AC, Bristols, Jaguars and more.
A beautiful car, quintessentially British, built for people with deep pockets and a stiff upper lip. Their craving for perfection finally lead them to the liquidation in May of this year.
harry eisermann Or just the opposite. Brexit could induce the incentive to build another of these genuine British cars, or motorbikes, or whatever vehicle fantasy can think of. Do not despair, every cloud has a silver lining!
A small anecdote...a number of years ago, probably early 2000s, a local friend visited me at home in Surrey with his brother. His brother was a noted collector and the car they arrived in was SMT 259, one of only two Farina bodied Bristol 400 cabriolets...certainly one of the most desirable Bristols ever made. Unfortunately the car wouldn’t restart...I think they flooded it..remember that?...but it is a beautiful car. A bit of simple searching reveals that it came up for auction in 2016 at Sotheby’s in Monaco, but fell way short of the pre-auction estimate, only achieving €224,000. I think it remained with my friend’s brother at least for a time after that. Certainly the rarest and most desirable car I ever had on any driveway of mine.
Had a soft spot since as a titch in the 1950s I got a Dinky Toys model of a Bristol (might have been a 450) Coupé Le Mans racer in BRG with a white spot on each door with a black number 20, the Grand Prix Cooper Bristol was soon added. although I have many models in my collection, those two sadly went astray over the years though I found a beaten up coupé on eBay which sits in the cabinet. I obviously didn’t understand that their saloon cars owed virtually so much to a German (also initially an aero engine maker) manufacturer being so young, as far as I knew it was just wonderful thing. And, ah, the Kensington showroom, many were the times as an adult I’ve had my nose against the window lusting at the cars just as I had as a kiddie at a toy shop hankering after those Dinky Toys. Great to see LJKS waxing lyrical about his favourite marque too, it’s yet another tragedy and symptomatic of the modern age that these marvellous specialist motor manufacturers have been lost, if there had been any justice Bristol, AC, Jensen and all of the others should be thriving, Bristol in particular. Roll on Euro millions, I’d be looking for one of each model iteration!
The late Dave Martin of Martin Audio loved these; at his workshops in Stanhope St, London, were a couple of non-runners. He offered me the 403 he had for £400 - owing to it having a Buick V8 instead of the original engine - but I had to pass on it after much consideration. I regret not taking the chance now, that was a couple of week's wages back then.
I remember an article in Car in the early 80’s where LJK Setright in the photos was wearing his Cippah and Tzitzit proudly (ritual clothing of an observant Jew).
@@johncheston5862 Also a fine clarinet player, and founded a well known orchestra - not so well known that I can remember the name offhand! Anything written by L.J.K. Setright is worth reading. He had very strong views on road wheels and steering wheels - he liked neither. If you have in you book collections any of the Automobile Club of Italy "World Cars" Volumes (by year), the commentary on the British car industry is written by him, and are perfect examples of his writing (he hated being called a Journalist).
They missed out on the 603, from which the named cars were developed from? ..................................................................Did Mr Setright play guitar with ZZ Top?
Wish they had gone into the reasoning that led to the adoption of Chrysler V8 engine and automatic gearbox. It seems to me an excellent choice, smooth powerful and long lived, at a lower cost than the hand built engine and box it replaced. But it must have been a difficult decision at the time.
They had expanded the six as far as was possible within the tooling for it, going from 2 to 3.8 litres. The 400 series cars were big and they needed more power, or really more torque. They started with a 318 and progressed fairly quickly to the big block 383 and I think you could get a 440 in the later series.
@@oregongaper The Chrysler engines with the excellent Torqueflite auto box were about the best choice at the time for that kind of car. Smooth, powerful, long lived, reliable, and economical for such a large powerful car. They must have cost a small fraction of what the hand built six cost. The big drawback was the greater bulk and weight of the large displacement V8.
Very interesting vid - shame about the audio. My hearis quite bad, but even using hi quality headphones, I understand only small bits of the commentary - shame.
Jay Leno's car has a speedometer in KM/Hr and an odometer in KM. Jay did not address this quirk in his video, and I speculated that the car was bought by a European customer. Can anyone shed light on this?
You know the phrase, He drives like he owns the road". If he's in a Bristol, he probably DOES own the road. Bristols are for people who regard Rolls Royces as cars for the hoi polloi.
They look nice for sure, very British, very gentry, but the old Jaguars beat them when it comes to styling / design, as far as I'm concerned. Exclusivity alone is not a really strong argument. But no idea about the technical reliability of Bristol compared to Jaguar. Having said that, the Bristol Beaufighter "whispering death" plane was one of the coolest looking of the war. I loooove that design.
Looking back nostalgically, stuck in their ways, refusing to adapt, believing that the phrase 'handbuilt' is a good thing and ending in bankruptcy. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you British car manufacturing.
'You remember the chap was well dressed, but you could not remember the details'. Also, because the details belongs to the owner in quiet privacy, I might add. How could one better define change. Beautiful, thank you.
I am forever proud to say My Grandfather was an Engineer at the B,A,C, Filton.!
Came here from Jay Leno's Video about the Bristol 403. Leonard Setright exceeded all my expectations on a excentric british author and journalist.
Same here! The image and the audio on Leonard are just not matching up at all, brilliant!
@@watsisbuttndo829 Remember reading his column in Car magazine back in the late 80's, couldn't make head nor tails of it, alas, I was only 8yrs of age. Quite a character...
Had his own Black Russian cigarettes specifically made for him
@@gulfstream7235 He wrote for Bike magazine in the 1970s. Pearls before swine given the demographic, I loved his column.
Australian....Setright was an Ocker!
Gem of a video. As well as the cars and the people involved with the brand we get to hear LKJ Setright
Bristol made some true gems; once in a while hitting on a classicaly lovely body design to go with the mechanical parts.
Love their quirkiness and originality
That also describes Setright.
Funny to see the production team all wearing ties. My Dad was in a coach building company in Switzerland during the Fifties. Pictures show that the entire team was wearing their ties. Nowadays it is hard to imagine a guy hammering and welding on a car with a tie on. That shows how proud and committed those workers were. An how much higher the quality of the exclusive cars was back in the day. I like the classy British cars of the old days.
But I must admit I come from a family who drove mainly Italian cars: Alfa Romeos, Maseratis and such.
In my region they had 4 different coach building companies. All of their former locacions can be reached in less than 20 minutes. A lot of the cars they built their bodies for were British: Alvis, AC, Bristols, Jaguars and more.
Mr Crook, an uncommon gentleman.
Bristol cars, a most uncommon marque!
I have only just come across this lovely film. What a lot of memories and interesting talks from so many people.
My dad had a Bristol and a Riley, I would love one
A beautiful car, quintessentially British, built for people with deep pockets and a stiff upper lip. Their craving for perfection finally lead them to the liquidation in May of this year.
So sorry to hear this.
stolen technology after WW2
winners justice, and went bankrupt
@@harryeisermann2784 Correct.
nothing left of British car industry, now Brexit will kill the last incentive, zero left , all gone, only nostalgy left
harry eisermann Or just the opposite. Brexit could induce the incentive to build another of these genuine British cars, or motorbikes, or whatever vehicle fantasy can think of. Do not despair, every cloud has a silver lining!
Very good...
Excellent cars!
Classy cars and gentlemen, great video
Always my dream cars since I was a kid.
Glorious cars!
A small anecdote...a number of years ago, probably early 2000s, a local friend visited me at home in Surrey with his brother. His brother was a noted collector and the car they arrived in was SMT 259, one of only two Farina bodied Bristol 400 cabriolets...certainly one of the most desirable Bristols ever made. Unfortunately the car wouldn’t restart...I think they flooded it..remember that?...but it is a beautiful car. A bit of simple searching reveals that it came up for auction in 2016 at Sotheby’s in Monaco, but fell way short of the pre-auction estimate, only achieving €224,000. I think it remained with my friend’s brother at least for a time after that. Certainly the rarest and most desirable car I ever had on any driveway of mine.
Very nice video. So much history. Wish these marques would be revived properly.
The Chinese ant farm will be making your car.
They were lovely cars
Had a soft spot since as a titch in the 1950s I got a Dinky Toys model of a Bristol (might have been a 450) Coupé Le Mans racer in BRG with a white spot on each door with a black number 20, the Grand Prix Cooper Bristol was soon added. although I have many models in my collection, those two sadly went astray over the years though I found a beaten up coupé on eBay which sits in the cabinet.
I obviously didn’t understand that their saloon cars owed virtually so much to a German (also initially an aero engine maker) manufacturer being so young, as far as I knew it was just wonderful thing.
And, ah, the Kensington showroom, many were the times as an adult I’ve had my nose against the window lusting at the cars just as I had as a kiddie at a toy shop hankering after those Dinky Toys.
Great to see LJKS waxing lyrical about his favourite marque too, it’s yet another tragedy and symptomatic of the modern age that these marvellous specialist motor manufacturers have been lost, if there had been any justice Bristol, AC, Jensen and all of the others should be thriving, Bristol in particular. Roll on Euro millions, I’d be looking for one of each model iteration!
Me too,I grew up in Addison Road in the 1960s-70s so I used to pass that Kensington showroom every day of my life and drooooool!!!!!
A unique marque an a unique man makes of this footage what to myself sums up as the Holy Grail of automotive media.
An England altogether gone now. Very sadly.
Not completely gone if the people just had belief in them self all the craziness would go away very rapidly and there would be more tradition.
The 403 was considered the most beautiful model Bristol ever built.
Love the 403's BMW based engines!
yes at least they didnt brake down English technology, what a joke?
A different level of exclusivity.
The late Dave Martin of Martin Audio loved these; at his workshops in Stanhope St, London, were a couple of non-runners. He offered me the 403 he had for £400 - owing to it having a Buick V8 instead of the original engine - but I had to pass on it after much consideration. I regret not taking the chance now, that was a couple of week's wages back then.
The British were so refined
Some of us still are!🇬🇧
Interesting to see Long John Kickstart complete with comedy beard.
He was an Orthodox Jew.
@@johncheston5862 Thanks for that. I misjudged the man ..... I thought it was just for effect.
I remember an article in Car in the early 80’s where LJK Setright in the photos was wearing his Cippah and Tzitzit proudly (ritual clothing of an observant Jew).
@@johncheston5862 Also a fine clarinet player, and founded a well known orchestra - not so well known that I can remember the name offhand! Anything written by L.J.K. Setright is worth reading. He had very strong views on road wheels and steering wheels - he liked neither. If you have in you book collections any of the Automobile Club of Italy "World Cars" Volumes (by year), the commentary on the British car industry is written by him, and are perfect examples of his writing (he hated being called a Journalist).
Was it the Philharmonia Chorus, which I believe he co-founded in 1957?
Does anyone know the connection between Bristol Cars and Bristol Commercial Vehicles? They certainly shared the same 'script' logo for a time.
They missed out on the 603, from which the named cars were developed from? ..................................................................Did Mr Setright play guitar with ZZ Top?
No, the clarinet was his instrument of choice.
@@johncheston5862 Or perhaps the pink oboe.😂
They folded last year, very sad.
I`ve seen Noel Gallagher of Oasis cruising around North London in one of these.
That just devalued them drastically then:(
Wish they had gone into the reasoning that led to the adoption of Chrysler V8 engine and automatic gearbox. It seems to me an excellent choice, smooth powerful and long lived, at a lower cost than the hand built engine and box it replaced. But it must have been a difficult decision at the time.
They had expanded the six as far as was possible within the tooling for it, going from 2 to 3.8 litres. The 400 series cars were big and they needed more power, or really more torque. They started with a 318 and progressed fairly quickly to the big block 383 and I think you could get a 440 in the later series.
@@oregongaper The Chrysler engines with the excellent Torqueflite auto box were about the best choice at the time for that kind of car. Smooth, powerful, long lived, reliable, and economical for such a large powerful car. They must have cost a small fraction of what the hand built six cost. The big drawback was the greater bulk and weight of the large displacement V8.
i love the BMW looking ones
Aesthetics was never very important. With the Grmans, it was. The more 'modern' they became, the more hideous they looked.
Very interesting vid - shame about the audio. My hearis quite bad, but even using hi quality headphones, I understand only small bits of the commentary - shame.
Jay Leno's car has a speedometer in KM/Hr and an odometer in KM. Jay did not address this quirk in his video, and I speculated that the car was bought by a European customer. Can anyone shed light on this?
You know the phrase,
He drives like he owns the road".
If he's in a Bristol, he probably DOES own the road.
Bristols are for people who regard Rolls Royces as cars for the hoi polloi.
Ray BLOODY Purchase!
@@davekennedy6315 Is that you, Clem?
Don't pummel me, but their styling reminds me of Volvos of similar eras.
I wonder if they had a union that went on strike.
With some help from ZZ top
Johnny come latelys.
That was LJK Setright
They look nice for sure, very British, very gentry, but the old Jaguars beat them when it comes to styling / design, as far as I'm concerned. Exclusivity alone is not a really strong argument. But no idea about the technical reliability of Bristol compared to Jaguar. Having said that, the Bristol Beaufighter "whispering death" plane was one of the coolest looking of the war. I loooove that design.
There was a Bristol in that Lesbian Vampire movie Starring that Ingrid Pitt woman.
3 cars a week? That's because the workers were getting paid, 14 pounds 10 shillings and 6 pence a week...
Less! Is More!
I sold my 401 (NWY609) a few years back. I would love to catch up with it if anyone has seen it?
@ 0:47 - Arthur C Clarke at his computer?
Are there any Bristol clubs in the USA?
How thoroughly British.
Notwithstanding the superb engineering, everything after the 407 was either bland or just plain ugly.
the Fighter would have a word with you
Looking back nostalgically, stuck in their ways, refusing to adapt, believing that the phrase 'handbuilt' is a good thing and ending in bankruptcy. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you British car manufacturing.
Bristol s weak story, stolen technology, BMW survived. Bristol Bankrupt. stands for British technology
Pug ugly, every one of them, ghastly ugly things. Sorry, (they sound good though).