Arnolt-Bristol

Arnolt
Arnolt-Bristol Competition
Arnolt-Bristol
Production period:	1954-1959
Class :	Sports car
Body versions :	Coupé , roadster
Engines:	Otto engine : 2.0 liters (96 kW)
Length:	4241 mm
Width:	1727 mm
Height:	1117 mm
Wheelbase :	2438 mm
Empty weight :	1100 kg

The Arnolt-Bristol was a two-seater sports car from the 1950s of British-Italian origin. Arnolt combined the chassis and drive technology from Bristol with a body designed and manufactured by Bertone . The vehicle was offered in several body versions and was sold primarily in the United States .

background

The initiative to develop the Arnolt-Bristol went back to the American businessman Stanley H. "Wacky" Arnolt. His Chicago, Illinois- based company SH Arnolt Inc. imported European sports cars such as Aston Martin , MG and Bristol after World War II . In 1953 Arnolt entered into an alliance with the Italian body manufacturer Bertone. Bertone produced the Arnolt Continental Sportster (also known as Arnolt-MG) on Arnolt's order, a two-door sports car offered as a coupé and open version. British Motor Corporation supplied the platform ( chassis , chassis and drive train ) for the MG-TD Roadster, while Bertone built the modern pontoon body designed by Giovanni Michelotti . A production of 200 vehicles was planned. In fact, only 103 cars were built because MG no longer supplied chassis from early 1954.

After production of the MG-Arnolt was discontinued, “Wacky” Arnolt tried to develop a successor with a comparable concept, that is, with British drive technology and Italian bodywork. Brokered by Bristol's sales manager James Watt, Arnolt's choice fell on the chassis of the Bristol 404 , a high-priced sports car presented in 1953 with which the term “Gentleman's Express” was associated for the first time. Again Bertone designed the body and built the vehicle. In 1953, “Wacky” Arnolt had invested heavily in Bertone's body shop with a view to producing the Arnolt MG and had meanwhile become its vice-president.

Like the Arnolt MG, this model was primarily sold in the USA. It was important to Arnolt to offer the Arnolt-Bristol on the American market at a lower price than the standard Bristol 404. He succeeded in doing this: In view of a few technical modifications, but above all because of the inexpensive production of the Italian bodies, the sales price was between, depending on the design 20 and 25 percent below that of the 404. Only a few examples of the Arnolt-Bristol found European buyers. Some vehicles were used in automobile races. There was no successor.

Technique of the Arnolt-Bristol

Arnolt-Bristol was based on the "rolling chassis" of the Bristol 404, which in turn was a shortened version of Bristol's standard chassis. This platform, used by Bristol since 1946 and in a modified form at Bristol Blenheim until 2011 , was based on the 1936 BMW 326 .

Bristol modified the chassis of the 404 for the Arnolt-Bristol only slightly. The changes were mostly due to Arnolt's concern to offer the finished car as cheaply as possible. So instead of the complex braking system of the 404, Bristol installed the simpler, cheaper brakes of the Bristol 403 ; the gears also corresponded to that of the 403.

The drive was the 2.0-liter in-line six-cylinder engine of the 100C type, which was also available in the Bristol 404. It made 130  hp .

Power was transmitted via a manually shifted four-speed gearbox identical to that of the 404.

body

Arnolt-Bristol De Luxe

Interior of the Arnolt-Bristol De Luxe

The body of the Arnolt-Bristol was designed by Franco Scaglione for Carrozzeria Bertone. The design was reminiscent of Scaglione's Alfa Romeo BAT models in some details and at the same time anticipated the design of the future Chevrolet Corvette C3 in the front section . The front section was strongly curved. The large height of the engine forced a bulge in the middle of the bonnet; additional height was achieved through an air scoop. The fenders were curved. In the front there was an oval opening for the headlights; in the middle was a barred grille.

The structure was made of sheet steel. The initially planned aluminum body was rejected in view of the ease of repair and the assessment that American workshops could handle steel better than with aluminum, which is comparatively harder to machine. Only the bonnet and trunk lid were made of aluminum.

The Arnolt-Bristol was available in four body versions:

• The simplest version was the competition version called Competition . Instead of a conventional windshield, the car only had a low front wind deflector. The car had no bumpers, no convertible top and a simplified interior.

• The sports car known as The Bolide was derived from this . Outwardly it was similar to the comptetition model, but had a fabric top.

• The De Luxe version was better equipped , with conventional bumpers, leather-covered seats and an extensively equipped dashboard.

• At the beginning of the American model year 1956, Arnolt finally offered a coupé version with a raised roof, manually retractable side windows and a hatchback. The delivery of the technically unchanged vehicle included more comfortable seats and wire wheels from Borrani. The coupé was the heaviest and at the same time the most expensive version of the Arnolt-Bristol.

production

Work on the prototype began in the spring of 1953. In May 1953, Bristol had completed the first chassis, which arrived at Bertone in Turin at the end of the month. It took Bertone three months to equip the chassis with a body in the style of the Bolide . In the autumn of 1953 the complete vehicle was returned to Great Britain, where it was subjected to extensive testing. Another chassis, equipped with a De Luxe body, was completed in early October 1953. Bristol first showed both versions to the public on its stand at the Earls Court Motor Show in late October 1953.

Series production began in January 1954 and ended in December 1959.

The manufacturing process was spread across different locations. Bristol manufactured the ready-to-drive chassis, which was already fitted with the engine , at its Filton plant . From there the chassis was transported by train to Turin, where Bertone added the body. The complete vehicles were shipped from Italy to Arnolt in Chicago.

142 copies of the Arnolt-Bristol had been built by 1959. Six chassis were dressed as coupes. Eleven vehicles were destroyed in a fire in Arnolt's warehouse in Chicago before being delivered to customers, and another car damaged in the fire was later rebuilt.

The sale of the last vehicles dragged on until the early 1960s. The penultimate vehicle was sold in 1963 and the last, optically slightly modified copy in 1968.

Performance

The Arnolt-Bristol has been tested several times by American automobile magazines. The magazine Sports Cars Illustrated undertook a detailed test in the spring of 1956. The testers praised the handling of the car and were of the opinion that the Arnolt-Bristol had "perhaps the best handling of all cars tested so far". For the competition model, they determined a top speed of 112 miles per hour. Acceleration from 0 to 60 miles per hour took 8.7 seconds, and 100 miles per hour was reached in 27.9 seconds. The braking behavior was particularly praised: the brakes showed no fading even after several emergency stops.

successor

Since 1955 Bristol engineers worked on successors to the contemporary models. The projects were named 220 and 225. The 225 project 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 structure was given the unofficial name The Bullet ("the bullet"). It was shown to "Wackie" Arnolt, 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. In 1969 it was fitted with a 6.3 liter eight-cylinder Chrysler engine for test purposes and extensively restored in 1999. The prototype was the model for the Bristol Blenheim Speedster sports car produced from 2002 to 2011 .

Market situation today

Arnolt-Bristol's are exclusive classic cars that are rarely offered on the market. The requested prices are usually six-digit euro amounts. In December 2012, one was in the UK powered car in good condition for 225,000 £ offered for sale; the factory offered a car in need of restoration in February 2013 for £ 90,000.

literature

• Christopher Balfour: Bristol Cars. A very British story . 2009 (Haynes Publishing) ISBN 978-1-844254071 .
• RM Clarke: Bristol Cars: A Brooklands Portfolio: 132 Contemporary Articles Drawn from International Motoring Journals , UK 2001 (engl.)
• Walt Woron: Driving around with Walt Woron-the Arnolt-Bristol . In: Motor Trend, October 1955 issue.

Web links

Commons : Arnolt-Bristol  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Bristol Cars website with images of the Arnolt-Bristol ( Memento from September 9, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
• Model history of the Arnolt-Bristol on the Bristol Owners Club website

Individual evidence

1. ↑ On the MG Arnolt cf. Oldtimer-Markt, issue 4/2004, p. 8 ff.
2. ↑ See also John Bolster: "The '404' Bristol Coupé". In: Autosport from October 16, 1953.
3. ^ ^{A b} Balfour: Bristol Cars, p. 213.
4. ^ Motor Trend, October 1955.
5. ↑ The 100C was the most powerful version of the in-line six-cylinder, also based on a BMW design. The basic version was the Type 100A, the Bristol 403. In addition, Bristol offered the Type 100B, which delivered 105 hp. It was the top engine of the 403 and the basic engine of the 404. Finally, the 100C was the most powerful engine available as an option in the 404. A revised camshaft with modified timing has increased the output to 125 hp with the same compression.
6. ^ Balfour: Bristol Cars, p. 215.
7. ^ The Motor, February 3, 1954 issue.
8. ^ New For Fall: Arnold-Bristol Coupé . In: Road & Track, October 1955.
9. ^ Balfour: Bristol Cars, p. 216.
10. ↑ For details see Model history of the Arnolt-Bristol on the website of the Bristol Owners Club ( Memento of the original from December 17, 2014 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. . 
11. ↑ To the whole: Sports Cars Illustrated. Issue July 1956.
12. ↑ Balfour: Bristol Cars, p. 233 ff. (With construction drawings of the chassis 225) and 361.
13. ↑ Thoroughbred & Classic Cars, issue 1/2013, p. 130.
14. ↑ Entry on the website www.bristolcars.co.uk ( memento of January 29, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (accessed on February 1, 2013).