Bristol Fighter: The Coolest Car You've Never Heard Of - XCAR
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- Опубліковано 21 жов 2024
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You've likely never heard of the Bristol Fighter, much less ever seen one. We got a rare look at one of the coolest cars you've never heard of.
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Went into the showroom one day in Kensington. Told the "salesman" that I loved their cars but I was unlikely to buy one.
He was a true gentleman and spent a good hour chatting about Bristol.
Wonderful experience.
Maybe he was the "boss"?
I worked for Bristol motors for a couple years, lovely place to be, and lovely motors to work on.
LUCKY YOU, DID YOU 'COLLECT', ANY SOUVENIR'S ?
Top Gear crashed cars, Chris Harris drifts cars, /Drive talks about cars... But you guys... You guys actually experience cars and do a mighty job at sharing that through your videos. It is still a wonder to me how this channel doesn't have millions of subscribers :/
Troy Johnson what about roadkill? xD
***** Subbed!!
***** toogear doesnt experience cars fucking idiot
Jørgen Fløan Lol at "fucking idiot"...
***** I never heard of this channel, either, but this host is great. I'll be watching more.
In the 60/70's I sold aluminium to Bristol Cars Filton and would often see Anthony Crook test driving prototypes, always with reg 100MPH and MPH100.
Good race history, the car and the man.
Man i love coming back to these old vids
I've definitely heard of the vehicle brand called Bristol :it's a low volume British Company, one of the models - Blenheim - is more expensive than the Rolls Royce Ghost (roughly £250,000) and the engine (a V8) is from American Company, Chrysler.
The same engine is used in another classic vehicle :Jensen Interceptor. Those were the days!.
I used to cycle past the Bristol car showroom on my way home from college when I was a student 30 years ago and would often stop and look through the windows but I don't remember ever seeing any staff in it. I still fancy having one.
Superb video and the first in depth video I’ve seen of any Bristol. You are very watchable and down to earth
I remember reading about this car in CAR, I believe it was the January 2003 edition. I waited FOREVER for more info and articles about it. I fell in love with the details and body lines. Wasn't too keen on the Viper V10 at the time, but I've grown to appreciate that engine. Thank you so much for filming a truly unique automobile that the motoring press ignored or simply never heard about.
Speaking of unique and forgotten, any chance you could get your hands on a Bizzarrini? :)
I’ve always had a soft spot for a Bristol and to see a pair of them just made my day, well afternoon at least.
Such a great brand. Check out Bristol's from the 50's and 60's, wonderful. I have a real soft spot for this car, thanks for posting.
OH LOOK AT LAST, SOMEONE WITH A BRAIN, AND USES IT
Ah Bristol - a car rarely seen other than in the quiet lanes of Kensington!
Looks like a TVR mixed with an early Lotus mixed with an SL Gullwing.
I'll be honest I only heard of this on Top Gear and never bothered to look for some more information or videos about it until now and I have to say its really cool.
Another example of fine British sports cars built in sheds...
Perhaps you don't realise that in that particular shed a rather well known aeroplane was also built in collaboration with the Frenchies , and that it did rather well being known both as a style icon and also for its speed .
"If your primary business model requires there to be a war on to thrive, well when the war stops, your a little bit stuck."
*laughs in American*
Since when has America not been fighting a war in some part of the world I sometimes think that is all they do screw up other people countries I say this as someone who actually likes America.
Laugh away . American style is to MANUFACTURE a WAR to keep the C M C ticking over .🤬.
I'm so glad I subbed ever since I saw that Bentley review a year and a half ago. Definitely one of my favorite car channels. The cinematography is perfect. Other reviewers always talk about the same thing, specs specs specs, whether the car can drift or not, and then simply restate what we've already heard and it just gets boring. These videos never get boring.
It is a crima aginst humanity to have two of these elusive beasts in one garage . Thanks for the lovely portrait. Thoroughly enjoyed it.....
Finally a proper video on Bristol! Massively overlooked car this. Great video, great car. Thanks guys :)
WELL SAID
This is a great video. Seen it before, and good to be reminded. Very interesting car. Crook sounds like a pretty cool cat.
I'd never heard of Bristol until this video and now I'm fascinated. I'm continually learning from your videos.
***** I love it! I'm totally adding it to the list of cars that I want and will never be able to afford.
Absolutely love the Fighter, however, I fear if I would have approached the Bristol showroom the sign would have been switched to closed too.
Seems sorta kooky, a dealer not really fighting to make a sale. And I had a weird experience in 2009 when a major U.S. car company had a new model on display in a trendy shopping area of Arlington, Virginia. I stopped to check it out and when I got in, the sales people acted like they couldn't wait for me to get out. Well, excuse me.
There's only ONE dealership that I know of and that's in Kensington High Street (past Olympia) due to it being a low volume British Company - one of the models costs £250,000 - its highly unlikely customers are going to be interested.
Especially with the competition - Rolls Royce Wraith, Bentley GT, Mercedes Benz S Class Coupè, Maserati GT and Aston Martin Vanquish et cetera - come in way cheaper : despite all of them being horrendously expensive to run!.
PROBABLY, NO RIFF RAFF SEE
@@MrDaiseymay They let me in there, and I am the raffest of the riff! Even got to sit in the Fighter...
@@anthonylewis2080 Not any more. Went bust in March last year, wound up in May.
This is what happens when a Gullwing Mercedes, a TVR, a Corvette C5 and an Acura Integra have an orgy.
That car sounds a bit pissed off, and I like that.....a lot....it does kind of remind me of a TVR though....
Now, that's a true-to-its-roots beau fighter!
strange. I came here to hear about a car, but met a story more interesting that the car. I giggled so often watching this. Nice show man!
Well, that's Bristol for you....
This actual car F6 HTR is currently sat on the back of a transporter on my next door neighbours drive having just been showing at the Goodwood Festival Of Speed 2021.
I've seen one at the 2003 Goodwood Festival of Speed. Fantastic car.
If i had to pick someone for one of the top gear presenters this guy would get my vote
I have a half dead bald ferrett that would be more inspiring !
Not much competition.
@@TheLastOilMan , by quite a margin!
Great vid. I would love to see more (a profile maybe?) about Tony Crook. He sounds off the wall!
All things come to those who wait.
There's a interview with him on UA-cam, old ( obviously) but excellent.
You used some of the bumpiest roads around Homfirth for this video! Never realised the car was so rare!
"borrowed" from BMW after the war..haha I love your style of commenting. Bravo Alex
Great video, a fair view of a typically charismatic British car, nice work Alex
I have this memory of entering their shop in London and admiring what I belive was this car - must have been 2004 or 2009. High price, memorably educated and inspiring seller that replied to my 'amazing, tad expensive for my pockets' with something reassuring that you make money. Today I might even think of such an expense (yet wouldn't, having more lucrative places to put money in!) but i occasionally go about thinking of that boutique selling what I learn to be a... boutique car in fact! Say the first 100 bil then I'll hunt one down (and... won't find one apparently!)
At 8:20 damn that panel gap!!! Still this has got to be one of the coolest cars I have seen in recent memory.
I always kind of doubted that ANY Bristol Fighters were built (aside from the original concept/prototype) so it's cool that even 9 or 15 or however many were built.
I saw an article proclaiming the Fighter T as being able to smoke a Veryon back in the day, a hell of a lot better looking than the over blown VW as well.
Bristol also built some some incredible sleeve valve Aero engines ad the cars raced at Le Mans.
The front reminds me of a Honda integra
It's vile.
The rear remind me of TVR cars
@@redline5725 mk6 Celica
LOTS of cars have individual round headlights.... you can name one other, I could name 50, lol
So much so that it actually looks like they lifted the front bumper off the integra
Would you guys please do follow-up on Bristol Bullet?
Looks like a real piece of crap.
I always forget people don't know these cars. Makes me sad. Great freaking review!
looking at all modern super cars... this fighter is the one i like to own most!
It is what a sports car should be, fun and nice to look at. If I had one of those in my garage, I'd be happy just to look at it. It's the perfect car to go out in on a Sunday afternoon for a coffee in a town 200kms away.
Would love to see a video on the TVR Cerbera Speed 12 or a Typhoon seeing how rare both are.
For a period in the late 60's I used to walk past the quite large London showroom on the way to and from work. It always fascinated me that the battery on the cars displayed then was behind a lift up wing panel. At the time they seemed in my circle of friends to be generally considered as old men's Jensen Interceptors, interesting but slightly uncool in the same way as a Morgan.
not just the battery, but fluids top up too, and under the other side panel the spare wheel
This guy would be good on a future Top Gear series...
No matter what whenever there's someone doing a car video, always one dickhead saying he should work on topgear. how many presenters do you think top gear should have??
This review is so "Old Top Gear".
GrahamBartle How so?
amy gal
It just had the over all feel. Simple camera work paired with an unassuming script, I just expected Tiff to show up at the end with an old Alfa for the next segment.
GrahamBartle Got ya
;)
GrahamBartle
Top Gear is DEAD, long live Xcar, /drive, smoking tire, chris harris on cars, etc.
Xavier Jones Drive now has Drive+ so I genuinely cringe with them, now.
They should have mentioned it uses the running gear out of the Dodge Viper, the V10 with the 6-speed manual or the 4-speed automatic. HP in the turbo was 1,025 and top speed of 225 mph. They stopped production in 2011.
2:40 this camera angle in the interior reminded me of 2000s top gear.
I think both you and Chris Harris would benefit from collaborating and creating your own channel together. By far the two best on UA-cam right now. Keep it up.
The front looks like something from a late 90's Acura Integra, the back between a BMW Z4 and Jensen Healey and the wing doors from a Mercedes Gull Wing..
My thoughts exact, on the integra front. Gives it a cheap appearance
The headlights let it down badly.
My daughter's middle name is Bristol, named after this car company. I always swore that if I had a kid I would name it after a car. When my wife was pregnant, I found her with one of my books of classic cars. She said she was fine with a car name, but it was going to be nice sounding. Good move, as I'd have probably started throwing out Invicta, Europa or Vega (one of which I was conceived in after a Led Zeppelin concert). I liked Bristol as they are elegant and unusual all at the same time, with the early ones having that wonderful BMW-derived straight six and the later ones had Chrysler V8's and were fast. The girl is a bit quirky herself, so the name works.
Carrera would be a nice name for your second baby girl. ;)
@@Gentleman...Driver I named the cat Carrera...
@@catjudo1 And the Dog "Turbo"? :) Nice.
Bristols is rhyming slang
First saw a fighter T and was astounded to find out it had over 1000 bhp! Amazing cars!
They never actually ever produced a fighter T
I worked in Kensington high st, next door to their salesroom in 1970. I was an avid fan of Bristols and often looked though the window at the cars for sale. The salesman always looked at me with a look that said don't bother even trying to come in. So I never did! It's a bit like a savill row suit, if you have the money you will probably choose something else.
Bristol and lotus sounds like a dream come true.
I once saw one parked in The Hague.
I've worked on this very car - even drove it around the workshop. :)
You make some damn good videos sir, I'll gladly keep watching your content :)
"Coolest car you've never heard of " ?? Are you kidding me?? I have been waiting over ten years for you friggin' journo's to get around to this little gem.. How could you get a title more wrong?
G. Quinn
to be honest, I had only seen it in a book, and once driving past at goodwood, so all I knew was that at the time that it came out it was full of promise above anything else of the period.. A viper that handled.. Pity that it's so british that it's flawed, but hell, nearly 40% of all those made are still on the road.. Not a total flop.. ;o)
G. Quinn
Yeah I know most Bristols.. Blenheim, Beaufighter etc.. it was this one that was the most elusive. Nice to have seen it better and with the views of the tester included.. Pity it was such a poorly executed vehicle
.
@carfection
I know I'm years too late but here goes...
Magazine road tests do exist, so this myth about Bristol not lending cars to journalists is bollocks. Check out 'Bristol Car Gold Portfolio' by Brooklands Books, there have been three editions, the latest covers up to 2012 Fighter, when the company went under, after over 60 years of independent management. brooklandsbooks.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=1202&search=Bristol+Cars)
Bristol didn't launch new models every few years like other manufacturers and they were staying in business, so there was no need to constantly court media attention. I mean, how often do you read a new Morgan road test?
I'm under the impression that the first Fighter customer was Simon Draper, co-owner of Palawan Press. His car was roadtested by Steve Cropley for Autocar www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/first-drives/bristol-fighter-v10-s-first-drive-review and Evo magazine (by Peter Tomalin, I think). This is the early days of the car and it was still receiving some fine tuning in the suspension department... However, David Vivian tested a Fighter for Evo against the Ferrari 599GTB. Look it up, you might be surprised by what you read, it was a close result and really came down to whether you can resist being seduced by a red Ferrari (difficult, I know). So Bristol had sorted the car by then.
Evo also did a group test (orange one that appeared at Goodwood Festival a few years ago), which included the Merecedes SLS AMG and Audi R8 V10 (and Aston Martin V8, I think). The Fighter came last but only because the conclusion was that it was the most 'GT' car there and not because it was a heap. Kind of proves what Bristol were trying to do with the Fighter though, it was designed as a GT car, so what's to complain about. The thing is that, with Bristol, of you want a sharper handling car (at the expense of comfort...) they can change the suspension settings for you. That's the pleasure of this kind of car.
Richard Porter (he of Sniff Petrol and behind the scenes of Top Gear) also drove one for Evo Magazine.
While I'm here, no, Fighter's aren't based on Viper platforms (the Fighter chassis is unique and a good deal smaller than the Dodge) and they didn't build any turbo models (which, in my opinion, they shouldn't have even publicised, bragging was never the Bristol way).
One last thing, several positive press reviews of the Blenheim exist, so again I say that this myth of Bristol not lending cars out is nonsense. Unfortunately, the most notorious is the one Jeremy Clarkson did for The Sunday Times... It is a funny read though (even a Bristol nut like me read it and laughed) and I can't defend Bristol for not letting him drive it. If JC had done so, he might have been more forgiving) and hasn't stopped me wanting one (or several).
If the Blenheim and Fighter still aren't your thing, then look at the older models. No one can fail to love the 403, 404nd 411 Series 5 especially, they're to die for.
The 411 Series 6 was/is a great idea... Classic looks with up-to-date engine, suspension and brakes. I think Brabazon Motors have a similar 'modern-vintage' tuning programme.
I've thought these were cool for the past decade! Finally, a review of one!
great --super
The power plant gets scant mention, it's a V10, and that's all. So I did some research, and as I suspected it's not produced by Bristol, it's that push rod truck engine from Mopar (many odd parts arraigned recklessly). I suppose it makes adequate power given it's huge capacity.
Spotted a Bristol fighter on the roads of south gloucestershire a few weeks ago, really annoyed i could not get close enough to give it a good inspection...probably never see another one ever again!
Sorry I'm three years late but if you look for 'Electric Blue' on Twitter, you can follow the owner of the blue Fighter, reg 'F6 HTR'.
Try asking the Bristol owners club if they have any rallies planned soon.
in 1960 I was working at the commonwealth institute in Kensington high str as a 16 year old just down the road it was the main London dealer of Bristol cars a beautiful well done show room n a bloke working with us loved cars so most breaks we used to walk down he showroom n just admire their cars the people inside got used to us been outside every day n 1 day a bloke came out n asked why we where there every day almost n the Scottish bloke said to him cause we love your cars next time we went there the bloke said we could go in n the Scottish fellow almost collapsed with happiness they offered us tea n then allowed us to get in their cars n sit in them I wasn't into cars at all them days But them cars where just stunning luxury n their paintwork was STUNNING for me, the one we sat in was a beautiful deep blue colour n if i remember right it was a 404, but i was very impressed by their kindness allowing us in the showroom n into one of their cars, later on I worked as a delivery driver but never had a chance to drive a Bristol But I drove an ALVI TD 21 drop head coupe THAT WAS A CAR FIT FOR A KING just magic
Looks like a TVR breeded a DeLorean 😅😅😅
Xavier Ancarno more like a tvr with mercedes doors and a stingray but
+Xavier Ancarno 'Breeded'..? What fucking language is that...?
+Rude Dogg with Honda Integra front
Of course I have
Bits were not ‘borrowed’ from BMW. Like many other companies in the UK, Bristol were offered ‘war reparations’. They elected to have theirs from BMW’s factory. The grille on the 400 is the homage to the BMW 328 from which the base engine came.
Straight on, it reminds me of the Acura Integra of the 90's.
Thanks Quentin jnr
Would have loved the Fighter T here in Canada, but very hard to get RHD cars into the country now! Sad really!
Great review and info! Keep up the good work!
Saw one parked in Manchester airport carpark. Would be quite an appropriate car for a pilot.
at 6:14 - "...only 500 horsepower..." Just how jaded are we these days?
Impressed. Subscribed. Nuff said.
Is it possible to do more of this "The cooles´t cars u never heard of?" I would like to see some reviews about Isdera Imperator and Comendatore, Lotec C1000 and Sirius, Dauer 962 LeMans, Hommell Berlinette RS ... cars widely unknown but worth to look up closer
*****
that would be totaly awsome I enjoy every of your videos!
An Aston is also a hand-made British sports car, and has much higher quality than that, or at least my 2009 V8 Vantage does. Still, always cool to learn a bit more about Bristol, after seeing the Blenheim's thumbnails in indicies in the back of Top Gear and Car back in the day, and having no internet to look up this mysterious make of car some more.
Looks like a USDM Integra in the front.
They were global Integras
I've just been driving behind F6 HTR! awesome sound and smell! Never thought i would see it again. Pretty sure the same owner also has a bristol 411^_^
Exclusivity is a disease of the British car industry. Snubbing potential customers to deal with the inability to execute a proper production run can only be seen as failure.
Those Integra headlights tho....
***** yes
LOTS of cars have individual round headlights.... you can name one other, I could name 50, lol
It was at the Goodwood car park 2 weeks ago. Best Viper ever;)
No article about Bristol Cars is complete without mention of a certain Leonard John Kensell Setright , possibly their greatest brand ambassador , as well as a prolific writer .
Front reminds me of the Euro spec Integra DC2
People really missing the point of this car. Bristol don't do numbers. Mr James may was told to how do I put this lightly Sod off your not having one. Class. Well done guys
Is this filmed around Holmfirth and the Holme valley?
Hi +Carfection please test the bristol bullet
Speechless... again! If only I could buy one...
I'VE WAITED SO LONG FOR THIS MOMENT
Good little film. Enjoyed it
What lovely !
Great footage!
Buying a Bristol was never really about the quality, it was a bit like buying a suit from someone like Gieves & Hawkes, it was made for you, exclusive and you bought it, not because it was necessarily the best, but simply because YOU could!
Not watched your videos B4 all i can say i subscribed i Love he wy you describe n drive the crs with the kind of respect they deserve I also remember the Bristol showroom in Kensington High street down the road from the commonwealth institute i used to work in maybe 59 or 60 not sure was it the Bristol 408? Tiff n you are the only p[eoploe who make sense to me many thanks for uploading n keep them coming guys we love your videos
a) don't do that: like many others, _of course_ I have heard of Bristol - what next: are we going to 'join' you on this 'adventure'?
b) I suspect Mr Crook quite enjoyed his notoriety and actually got plenty enough press coverage
c) some context would have been nice: along with some beauties, Bristol has cranked out some right munters. The 80s & 90s were a particular low point - the Fighter was a spectacular return to form (even if letterbox windows don't close properly)
When car magazines existed, it introduced this beauty unexpectedly.
It looks amazing
Great film thanks guys.
How many of these are there?! Pretty incredible!
+The Miniature Scenes ... Just seen it.. 9!!
The Fighter, this one is the dream car for me. If I won the lottery( euro probably) I’d pay anything for that car!
UTTERLY MAGNIFICENT.
In my opinion i think TVR is a good competitor as they were built in a shed in blackpool and they excellent sports cars, at least when they run of course ;)
"Borrowed" is a bit of overstatement. Bristol did get BMW plant as a war reparation. Anyway I do respect them. Only people who truly love car can or will buy a Bristol. Not some new money Russian/Chinese or some flashy Sheikh that owned them. I'll be more interested to know if Bristol made any of Fighter T version because I haven't seen review if someone owned that version. Also main staple of Bristol at that time is Bristol Blenheim a 1980s car that you can still buy at 2010 complete with old Chrysler V8. Not fast but elegant grand tourer.
Here is to Bristol. Hope for sucessful relaunch this year.
***** Thank you so much for the answer. And also I once saw an advertisement for Fighter parts and shells from bankruptcy auction in a classic car magazines and the seller has Fighter GT2 (Or GT1) bodyshell from cancelled racing programme. I can't imagine if they can actually racing it. Must be fun to see Fighter in GT racing.
***** get a marcos to drive next really rare the newest tso gtc or gt2
The Blenheim is cool but I just can't stand the A4 rear lights on it. Looks out of place imo.
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Bristol_412_and_Bristol_Blenheim_4_Special_order.jpg
thee Mitchi Yikes! I see what you mean.
Nice to see a very special car.