The eccentric, elegant and ultra-rare Bristol Fighter spearheads a doughty brand’s rebirth

Nearly a quarter of a century ago, I experienced the late flowering glory of Bristol Cars, an eccentric British manufacturer approaching the end of its first historic epoch. Spun off from the Bristol Aeroplane Company (founded in 1918), Bristol Cars parlayed the inter-war manufacturing experience it had gleaned from making car and bus bodywork into proper automotive manufacturing.

The car division was founded in 1945, with a factory close to Bristol’s aviation works at Filton Airport to the north of the eponymous town. Its first car was effectively a pre-war BMW, the rights to which had previously belonged to Frazer Nash and which were subsequently acquired via the War Reparations Board.

When Bristol Aeroplane started along the long road to becoming a part of British Aerospace, the car maker became independent, ultimately overseen by the inimitable Tony Crook, a leading dealer, racing driver and former Second World War pilot, who took over from the founding White family.

Crook defined Bristol’s character, eccentric, slightly out of time, but plain speaking and wilfully idiosyncratic. Bristol models evolved at a glacial pace, never quite finding the pulse of fashion but often picked by customers with similar anti-establishment views. Above all, they had to be approved by Crook, who ruled from the company’s sole dealership, a wood-panelled period piece beneath an apartment block in London’s West Kensington.

The cars weren’t especially competitive or even attractive once the Type 410 and 411 gave way to the hard-edged Beaufighter, Britannia and Blenheim models of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Nevertheless, they retained a certain je ne sais quoi, with lazy Chrysler V8 engines providing plenty of power. As the new century progressed, the ageing Crook took a step back, but not before the company’s swansong, the V10-powered Bristol Fighter, made its debut.

This was the car I was assigned to drive, with Crook in the passenger seat barking orders and directions. Low and slim like a cigarette boat, with an engine taken from Chrysler’s frankly over-powered and intimidating Viper supercar, the Fighter certainly looked the part, even if the performance claims were somewhat bold. It also wasn't the easiest car for an inexperienced driver to thread through London traffic, especially as it had a towering list price of over £200,000.

The interior was festooned with dials and buttons, and even had controls mounted on the roof and a gauge that showed the total engine running hours, just like in an aircraft. As we drove west out of London, Crook urged me on, all the while extolling the virtues of the narrow body, the copious luggage space and the effortless power.

Top speed was said to be in excess of 200mph, with an even more extreme Fighter T variant offering 250mph-plus. It’s not known if any of the latter were made, for sadly Bristol Cars was on the way out. The company closed its doors in 2011, sold its London showroom and workshop and shuttered the factory in Bristol. Maybe as few as 20 Fighter chassis were ever built, with some sources suggesting less than ten cars were ever completed.

For the past 15 years, the name was in limbo. Crook died in 2014 at the age of 93, not living to see a stalled revival in the shape of the 2016 Bristol Bullet. It was a blank and the name disappeared yet again. However, those familiar with the auto industry’s current fascination with the recent past will know where this story is going, for the Bristol Fighter is back. A full 80 years after the company's first-ever car, it has returned with a continuation series of five ‘new’ Bristol Fighters.

These cars, constructed on unused original chassis, will all be handmade and built to order. Hopefully they'll secure the claimed coveted 210mph top speed once and for all, courtesy of their 8.0-litre V10 engine. The car illustrated here, unveiled at today’s Salon Privé event in Blenheim (2 September 2026), is a showcase for the revival, with impeccable trim and build quality. As before, it’s a strict two-seater, with generous luggage capacity. As before, it remains a powerful GT machine for the discerning individualist.

It’s the first page of a new chapter for the historic brand, revived by new owner and director Paul King with assistance from chairman Richard Hackett – who once worked alongside Crook. ‘Bringing Bristol Cars back is about far more than reviving a name; it is about bringing back the spirit of a marque that has always stood apart,’ says King. ‘We want to honour its heritage while giving Bristol a future that is every bit as distinctive. This is the beginning of Bristol’s return, and there is much more to come.’

For more information, visit Bristol-Cars.co.uk