Bristol Blenheim Speedster

Bristol
Bristol Blenheim Speedster
Blenheim Speedster
Production period:	2002-2011
Class :	Sports car
Body versions :	Roadster
Engines:	Otto engine : 5.9 liters (294 kW)
Length:	4675 mm
Width:	1750 mm
Height:	1120 mm
Wheelbase :	2900 mm
Empty weight :	1390 kg
successor	Bristol Bullet

Stylistic model for the Blenheim Speedster: The Bristol 404 from 1953

The Bristol Blenheim Speedster is an open sports car that the former British car manufacturer Bristol Cars produced from 2002 to 2011. The car was technically based on the four-seater Gran Turismo Bristol Blenheim , but had a completely independent body. The structure was based on a prototype from the 1950s, which had been referred to in the factory as The Bullet ("the projectile"). The Blenheim Speedster was created in very small numbers.

The predecessor: The Bullet

Bristol Cars was founded in 1946 as a subsidiary of the aircraft manufacturer Bristol Aircraft Company . The first vehicle of the new brand, the Bristol 400 , was based on technical components from the BMW models 326 , 327 and 328 developed before the war . Bristol took over the chassis of the BMW 326 almost unchanged, and the structure of the two-door model was based on a design by the Darmstadt-based bodywork manufacturer Autenrieth from 1939. With the 401 , which sported a Touring body , Bristol broke away from its BMW models. While some Bristol models have been reported to motorsport events by private drivers and the cars have had a top speed of 100 mph (160 km / h) since 1948, their focus was on comfortable driving. The exception was the Bristol 404 , an expensive two-seater coupe with a short chassis that could be driven quickly and was nicknamed the Gentleman's Express . 44 copies of the 404 were made in two years. Even sportier was the Arnolt-Bristol , a joint production of Bristol and the Italian body manufacturer Bertone , which combined the chassis of the 404 with a tight, very light and streamlined aluminum body made in Turin. They had a 130 hp (96 kW) engine and reached top speeds of up to 180 km / h.

Since 1955 Bristol engineers worked on successors to the contemporary models. The projects were named 220 and 225. Project 225 was a short chassis for a sports car that was in the same segment as the Arnolt-Bristol and, according to the Bristol management, could have been its successor. Bristol manufactured several 225 chassis. One chassis was provided with an open Speedster body, the author of which is unknown. The combination of chassis and body was given the unofficial name The Bullet . It was shown to Stanley "Wackie" Arnolt, the initiator of the Arnolt-Bristol project, but did not find his approval. In the following years Bristol gave up work on Projects 220 and 225. The Bullet remained unused in the factory for several years. Around 1970 the body was connected to a new chassis and equipped with a 6.3 liter V8 engine from Chrysler . Bristol director and co-owner Tony Crook temporarily considered series production of the vehicle, which would have been positioned in the AC Cobra market segment , but saw a contradiction to the comfort-oriented models of the 411 series and put The Bullet out of service again. It wasn't until 1999, after Toby Silverton became a shareholder in Bristol Cars, that the car was rediscovered and restored. It received the drive and technology of the current Bristol Blenheim. Silverton, whose acquisition of the stake gave the economically troubled traditional company greater leeway, opted for limited series production of a vehicle conceptually based on The Bullet , which began in 2002.

Technology and construction of the Blenheim Speedster

For the Blenheim Speedster, Bristol used the unabridged chassis of the Bristol Blenheim, a four-seater luxury class sedan . The concept of the box frame was based on the chassis of the BMW 328 developed in 1938 and had only been slightly revised since Bristol took over the design. The suspension consisted of double wishbones at the front and a rigid axle with a Watt linkage and torsion springs at the rear . It was powered by a 5.9 liter V8 engine from Chrysler (type LA Smallblock), whose output was estimated by observers to be 294 kW (400 hp). The power was transmitted by a five-speed automatic transmission from Chrysler.

The body was made of aluminum. Its shape was modeled on the front and rear of the Bristol 404, without the structure being a true-to-detail replica. The curved front fenders led into two round headlights, the exposed radiator opening in between was kept in the style of the 404, the front section of which in turn was supposed to be reminiscent of Bristol's Brabazon aircraft . As with the 404 and its four-door parallel model 405, there were hinted tail fins on the rear end , which in the historical model should be reminiscent of the Le Mans racing car 450 .

The Blenheim Speedster was not factory fitted with a windscreen. He only had a 20 cm high wind deflector in front of the cockpit, so that the driver was almost unprotected from the wind. A convertible top was also not available; the only weather protection was a tarpaulin that could be stretched over the seats. Initially the car was purely two-seater; In 2009, individual copies were also built as four-seater.

The Speedster was 30 cm shorter and about 300 kg lighter than the Blenheim Saloon. It accelerated from 0 to 100 km / h in 5.2 seconds and had a top speed of 257 km / h.

The retail price was around £ 160,000.

production

The Blenheim Speedster was entirely handcrafted. From 2002 to 2011, Bristol produced 10 to 15 copies of the Speedster. Production ended when the manufacturer went bankrupt in March 2011.

Like all Bristol models since the 1970s, the Blenheim Speedster did not have a general operating license because Bristol, as a small series manufacturer, did not allow the necessary test procedures to be carried out for financial reasons. The respective owner therefore had to obtain an individual operating permit for approval for road traffic .

After the takeover of Bristol Cars by Kamkorp, the Roadster Bristol Bullet was released in 2016 , which was conceptually similar to the Blenheim Speedster.

The Draper Speedster

On behalf of the British collector Simon Draper, Bristol produced a differently equipped version of the Speedster as a one-off. Drapers car has a full windshield with wipers. The doors have movable side windows and the car has a retractable, lined fabric top.

literature

• Christopher Balfour: Bristol Cars. A very British story . 2009 (Haynes Publishing) ISBN 978-1-84425-407-1 .
• Giles Chapman, Steve Cropley: New Bristol Shock! . Presentation of the Bristol Blenheim in: Autocar from September 15, 1993.
• Martin Buckley: Souls of discretion. 50th anniversary of Bristol Cars. All significant models , in: Classic & Sports Car 5/1996.

Web links

• Introducing the Blenheim Speedster on the Bristol Owners Club website (accessed December 24, 2012).
• Image of a Bristol Blenheim Speedster (in the background: company owner Toby Silverton) (accessed December 24, 2012).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Classic and Sportscars , issue 8/2006, p. 133
2. ↑ On the Arnolt-Bristol cf. Walt Woron: Driving around with Walt Woron-the Arnolt-Bristol . In: Motor Trend, October 1955 issue.
3. ↑ Balfour: Bristol Cars, p. 233 ff. With construction drawings of the chassis.
4. ↑ ^{a b c} Balfour: Bristol Cars, p. 361.
5. ↑ ^{a b} Catalog of the Swiss Automobile Review 2008, p. 147.
6. ↑ Classic & Sports Car, issue 8/2006, p. 118.
7. ↑ Brief description of the Bristol 404 on the website www.bristolcars.co.uk ( Memento of the original from March 10, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed December 24, 2012).  
8. ↑ Image of the Draper Speedster on the website www.autoviva.com (accessed on December 24, 2012).