Bristol 412

Bristol
Bristol 412 S1
412 S1 / S2
Production period:	1975-1980
Class :	Sports car
Body versions :	Cabriolet
Engines:	Petrol engines : 5.9–6.6 liters (194–294 kW)
Length:	4900 mm
Width:	1770 mm
Height:	1449 mm
Wheelbase :	2900 mm
Empty weight :	1746 kg
successor	Bristol Beaufighter

A 2009 factory restored Bristol 412 S2 alongside a Bristol 402

The Bristol 412 was an exclusive four-seater convertible from the British car manufacturer Bristol Cars . The stylistically idiosyncratic car was “the result of a meeting of the automotive eccentrics” Bristol and Zagato . It was created from 1975 in several versions and very small numbers. The 412 supplemented the respective Gran Tourismos of the brand during this period, i. H. the Bristol 411 Mk. V and the Bristol 603 .

The concept

In the summer of 1974, Tony Crook , owner of Bristol Cars, revived the relationship with the Zagato design studio in Milan . Zagato had produced some special versions of the Bristol models 406 and 407 in the early 1960s that had caused quite a stir. After a ten-year break in the business relationship, Crook commissioned the design for a completely new model, which, contrary to the international trend, should enable open driving. Zagato designed a very angular body, the basic concept and numerous details of which corresponded to the Lancia Beta Spider , which had been designed by Pininfarina and had been manufactured by Zagato since 1974. Like the Beta Spider, the new Bristol also had a massive roll bar to address safety concerns. Bristol thus picked up on the trend of the so-called safety convertible, which was first implemented in 1970 at the Triumph Stag and was found in the 1970s, alongside the Lancia Beta Spider, in cars as diverse as the Reliant Scimitar GTC or the Opel Kadett Aero . In the first series, the windows of the doors were frameless.

A special feature of the Bristol 412 was a small side window that was let into the roll bar and, in any case, could be opened on the early models. Almost all copies had such a window; in at least one vehicle, however, the roll bar was instead completely covered with vinyl. Between the windshield frame and the roll bar was a targa roof made of plastic, which was removable, while a fold-down fabric hood, which corresponded to the earlier Landau style, over the rear seats was located. Many details had Italian origins such as the taillights that came from the Lancia Beta Spider or the door handles that had already been used on the Alfa Romeo Zagato Junior . The rectangular headlights with integrated turn signals came from the Opel Rekord D . From a technical point of view, the car was the same as the Bristol 411 except for minor details . The bodyshells were mostly manufactured at Zagato, but at least at times also at the Carrozzeria Maggiora in Moncalieri near Turin .

A special feature of the first series were frameless door windows. The lack of a window frame made the seal between the side windows and the hardtop difficult. To improve the seal, Bristol developed a system that electrically lowered the side windows when the door was opened and raised them again when the door was closed. Bristol failed to patent this design. Later, Mercedes-Benz used a very similar solution for their own convertible models. Another development by the Bristol engineers, which was soon copied, were rails on the vehicle floor to which the lower ends of the seat belts were attached; so the belts could slide back if necessary to allow barrier-free access to the back seat.

Bristol 412 S1

The new car was named Bristol 412 Convertible and was unveiled to the public in the spring of 1975. The 412 was £ 2,000 more expensive than the closed 411 but was £ 7,000 less than the open Rolls-Royce Corniche . From March 1976, the otherwise unchanged car was called the Bristol 412 Convertible Saloon . As with the model 411 Mk. 5, which is still on offer, a Chrysler eight-cylinder with a displacement of 6.6 liters served as the drive.

Initial tests showed that the angular, aerodynamically unfavorable car reached a top speed of 225 km / h. The testers praised the smooth, playful handling, the pleasant driving performance and the excellent workmanship. A photographer for Motor Sport magazine, who usually had himself locked in the trunk of the test car to change his films, reported that he had never experienced such lasting darkness in any other trunk as in that of the Bristol 412.

In the June 1977 issue of the British magazine Car and Driver compared the Bristol 412 under the title "The Hypertourers" with a Ferrari 400 Automatic and an Aston Martin Lagonda . The journalist LJK Setright concluded that the Bristol 412 was preferable to its competitors and described the 412 as:

"A car that is always a lady ..., retaining her manners where another might be revealed as a bitch."

"A car that is always a lady ... that maintains her manners even in situations in which others turn out to be sluts"

Bristol 412 S2

Bristol 412 S2 in London

The Bristol 412 Convertible Saloon S2 (Series 2) appeared in the fall of 1977 . The exterior of the car had hardly changed. However, the windows of the doors now had a frame, so that the problem of sealing the windows and hardtop, which had previously been solved at great expense, was eliminated. The S2 was - like the Bristol 603 presented a year earlier - powered by a 5.9-liter eight-cylinder, which was still sourced from Chrysler . Unlike the 603, the smaller 5.2-liter variant of the 412 was not available. On the other hand, the car could be prepared at the factory for operation with natural gas.

Bristol 412 S3 Beaufighter

→ Main article: Bristol Beaufighter

In January 1980, Bristol presented a sensational innovation: The Bristol 412 was now available from the factory with turbocharging. The car appeared a good two years before the Bentley Mulsanne , which had a similar technology, and was thus the first "standard" turbo engine from British manufacture. Turbocharging increased engine output by 30 percent, and driving performance also increased significantly: the Beaufighter sprinted from 0 to 96 km / h in 6.7 seconds and reached a top speed of more than 240 km / h. In the first test drives, a consumption of over 30 liters per 100 km was noticed; In the following months, however, Bristol managed to reduce this value to around 25 liters / 100 km through fine-tuning. The Beaufighter remained in the program until 1993. A special model was the Beaufort , a four-seater full convertible that remained a one-off.

Bristol 412 USA

At the end of 1980, on the initiative of an American businessman, Bristol produced two left-hand drive vehicles with the body of the Beaufighter but without turbocharging. The drive technology corresponded to that of the Bristol 412 S2; however, exhaust gas cleaning by a catalytic converter was provided. The vehicles designated as Bristol "412 USA" were intended for the American market. The vehicles were shown to the public at the 1980 New York Motorshow. In the following years they found American buyers. Regular sales of such vehicles in the USA could not be realized. The project ultimately failed because the 412 USA did not meet the registration requirements of all American states. Bristol was able to sell about a dozen similarly designed cars on the Swiss market in the course of the 1980s , and another vehicle was exported to Canada.

Scope of production

The number of copies that were made from 1975 to 1982 is unclear. The work gave no information on this. The literature predominantly assumes a total production of 60 vehicles; that would correspond to an annual quota of fewer than 10 cars.

gallery

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  Bristol 412 S2

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  The interior of the 412 is based on the classic Bristol style

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  View of the roof structure of the 412 S2 with fixed door frames

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  Bristol 412 S1. The brand-typical toaster grill is clearly visible.

literature

• Bristol Fashion. Road Test Bristol 412 . Presentation and test of the Bristol 412 S1 in: Motor, March 5, 1977.
• Keith Adams: Every single one. All the Bristol from 400 to the Fighter . In: Octane Classic and Performance Cars, Issue 4/2012, p. 88 ff. (Special on 412: p. 96 f.).
• 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 (English)
• LJK Setright: The Hypertourers. Ferrari 400 auto, Bristol 412 and Aston Martin Lagonda . Comparison test in: Car & Driver, June 1977 issue.
• LJK Setright: Bristol. A private car , 2 volumes, UK 1999 (English)

Web links

Commons : Bristol 412  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Bristol Owners Club website for the Bristol 412, accessed October 7, 2009
• First sales brochure for the Bristol 412 (1975)
• Sales brochure Bristol 412 Sales brochure with technical data
• Sales brochure Bristol 412 / S2 (1979)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Classic and Sports Car, issue 3/2013, p. 128 ff.
2. ↑ Octane Classic and Performance Cars, Issue 4/2012, p. 96 f.
3. ↑ Illustration of a 412 without side window (1979) ( Memento of the original from June 29, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was 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 on August 16, 2013).  
4. ↑ Octane Classic and Performance Cars, Issue 4/2012, p. 96 f.
5. ^ Balfour: Bristol Cars. A very British story. P. 330.
6. ^ Motor, March 5, 1977.
7. ^ Balfour: Bristol Cars. A very British story p. 335.