Just a year later, it revealed the 400. We said: “One can sympathise with the manufacturer starting out on this industrial adventure for not taking on too much at once.
Bristol themselves call the design a ‘common-sense compromise’. And one must acknowledge the real excellence of the result, which is based on so well-tried and admirable chassis as the BMW but which, for the moment, somewhat sacrifices weight considerations to durability and serviceability.”
Within an unconventional large box-girder-frame chassis sat independent front suspension, hydraulically damped torsion-bar rear suspension and a triple-carburetted 2.0-litre straight six, noted for its lightness, making 100bhp but amusingly detuned to a “sufficient” 80bhp for production.
Our 1948 road test read: “The feeling obtained in trying the [400] over more than 500 miles of fast driving was that the specification had been chosen by people who like fast cars of the style appealing to the most discriminating of motorists.
“[It’s] the sort of car one looks forward to driving as a special and pleasurable experience. The essence of its quality is its road-holding ability, which is excellent.
The chassis and suspension are surely an outstandingly successful piece of design. [It] can be placed with exactness when cornering. The ride is firm but not harsh, and the seats are deep and comfortable.
“Without doubt, Bristol at the first attempt have produced an outstanding British car.”
Albeit one that cost £2374 – more than double the rival Jaguar MkV, or about £71,320 in today’s money.
Only 487 were made over three years, but that was success for a small start-up in a tough economy, and the improved 401/402 added a few months later contributed 634.
Bristol progressed well through the 1960s – until White suffered a bad crash in his 410, necessitating a sale to dealer Tony Crook, whose eccentric autocracy led it to fall behind the times and ultimately, after his death, into liquidation.