Bristol 450

Bristol 450 in profile (graphic)

The Bristol 450 was a racing car from the British aircraft and automobile manufacturer Bristol Aircraft Company (later: Bristol Cars ), a few copies of which were produced from 1953 to 1955. Bristol took part in a few selected motorsport events with him at the factory.

background

Sir George White in front of two Bristol 450s

Since the late 1940s, Bristol has been supplying the well-known two-liter, six-cylinder engines based on BMW technology to companies such as Frazer Nash , ERA or Cooper , who use them to equip their own vehicles and who successfully operate in motorsport. Under the impression of the marketing success that Jaguar achieved with the technology transfer from Le Mans sports cars to production models such as the Jaguar Mark VII , Bristol decided at the beginning of the 1950s to also get involved in motor racing at the factory. In addition to George White, the driving force behind this idea was above all the Bristol dealer Tony Crook , who had already privately used some Bristol series vehicles at smaller racing events early on. On the occasion of the London Motor Show in October 1952, Bristol announced that it would compete in the Le Mans 24-hour race with its own vehicle .

The result of the development work was the Bristol 450, an enclosed racing car that successfully took part in endurance races from 1953 to 1955. After the tragic Le Mans 24-hour race in 1955 , in which there was a serious accident and a total of 83 spectators were killed, Bristol withdrew from motorsport.

technology

The Bristol 450 was not based on Bristol's own chassis, which was based on a pre-war BMW construction and had been used in various road vehicles of the brand since 1946; this heavy construction was regarded in the factory as unsuitable for motorsport at a higher level. On the other hand, Bristol did not have enough time to develop its own chassis between the announcement and the first planned deployment. Bristol therefore resorted to a design by ERA. There, David Hodgin had drafted the G-Type, a racing car for Formula 2 , which was ultimately only used in three attempts under Stirling Moss . Bristol took over the rights to the construction in the winter of 1952 and reworked it under the direction of David Summers. in the following months. This included, in particular, a reinforcement of the chassis, whereby some aluminum parts were replaced by steel components and further load-bearing elements were added. The overall concept was designed to position the weight of the car as far as possible between the axles. The tank was therefore placed between the engine, which is located behind the front axle, and the tight driver's cab.

As a drive, Bristol used a heavily revised version of its own engine, which initially produced an output of 142 hp (104 kW) with the same displacement of 1971 cubic centimeters; At the beginning of 1954, the output was then increased to 155 PS (114 kW). The modifications included a specially developed cylinder head made of aluminum, intake valves made of a chrome-nickel alloy with an enlarged intake opening, and newly designed exhaust valves. The mixture was supplied via three Solex downdraft carburettors. The crankshaft has been reinforced compared to the production version and the cooling system has been adapted to the increased performance.

The engine was connected to its own four-speed gearbox, which had been modified in detail.

The body of the 450 was unusually proportioned. The hood was very long; the driver's cab was located directly in front of the rear axle. In the course of development there were different structures:

• Initially, the 450 was designed as a closed vehicle. The design of the front section changed in the course of development. Initially, the 450 had free-standing front headlights and two additional headlights integrated into the sloping bonnet, later the headlights were integrated into the fenders and covered flush with Plexiglas. A noticeable design feature of all closed 450 models were two large tail fins that were supposed to provide aerodynamic stability. The Bristol 404 sports coupe presented shortly afterwards quoted these tail fins, but they were much smaller there.

• In 1955, the 450 was given an open body with the driver's seat on the right-hand side, a passenger seat prescribed by the regulations but covered by a large sheet metal part for aerodynamic reasons, as well as an upright rear fin (similar to the Jaguar D-Type ) with a front end Headrest. In the literature, there is agreement that the 450 Roadsters were not rebuilt, but that the factory only removed the roof of the existing coupés and adapted the rear end.

The races

The Bristol 450 was used in a number of endurance races in France from 1953 to 1955. The car achieved mostly class wins.

1953

1953 Le Mans 24 hour race

The first use of the closed Bristol 450 took place on June 13, 1953 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans . The Bristol Airplane Company reported one car each for Lance Macklin / Graham Whitehead and Tommy Wisdom / Jack Fairman . Except for Graham Whitehead, Peter Whitehead's brother , who won the race in 1951 , the drivers were seasoned sports car drivers and Le Mans veterans. Tommy Wisdom made his Le Mans debut in 1934 . None of the cars crossed the finish line: the Macklin / Whitehead car retired after 29 laps, the Wisdom / Fairman car after 70 laps. In Graham Whitehead's vehicle, the connecting rod broke just before the Mulsanne. The car got off the track and caught fire. Whitehead was unharmed. In the Wisdom / Fairman car, a fallen suspension part damaged the fuel line, causing leaking fuel to ignite on the hot exhaust. The fire spread to the cockpit while driving and seriously burned the hands and feet of driver Tommy Wisdom.

1953 Reims 12 hour race

In its second use, the held on July 5, 1953 12-hour race in Reims , the Bristol 450 was able to achieve a first success. The car driven by Peter Wilson and Jack Faiman finished fifth in the overall standings and won the class for sports cars up to 2-liter displacement. However, after 12 hours of driving, the car was already 29 laps behind the victorious Jaguar C-Type driven by Peter Whitehead and Stirling Moss . The second 450, driven by Lance Macklin and Graham Whitehead, failed to cross the finish line due to a transmission failure.

Endurance race Montlhéry 1953

In a long-distance race in Montlhéry, France in October 1953, Macklin and Fairman set six new speed records in class E (for vehicles with 1,501 to 2,000 cubic centimeters): They achieved an average speed of 125.87 miles per hour and over a distance of 200 miles drove an average of 115.43 mph over a six hour period. After the last record lap, Peter Wilson drove a final lap at a speed of 126 mph to show that the car was still in perfect condition even after the performance it had since performed.

1954

1954 Le Mans 24 hour race

Bristol entered the Le Mans 24-hour race on June 13, 1954 with three Type 450 vehicles . The vehicles were the same as those launched the previous year, but the factory had slightly revised them in the area of ​​the front end, and the power output had been increased by 13 hp. This increased performance was the result of consistent winter work, where experiments were mainly carried out with new cylinder heads and valves. The team reported the driver pairings Peter Wilson / Jim Mayers , Mike Keen / Tommy Line and Tom Wisdom / Jack Fairman. The young Australian Jack Brabham was signed as a substitute driver . All three vehicles crossed the finish line. Wilson / Mayers finished seventh overall with an average speed of more than 90 mph, Wisdom / Fairman finished eighth, and Keen / Line finished ninth. The Bristol vehicles also led the rating for sports cars from 1.5 to 2 liter displacement.

1954 Reims 12 hour race

For the 12-hour race in Reims on July 4, 1954, Bristol again reported three vehicles for Keen / Line, Wilson / Mayers and Wisdom / Fairman. The race was dominated by the Jaguar cars. The Bristol finished in positions ten (Keen / Line), eleven (Wilson / Mayers) and twelve (Wisdom / Fairman); Keen / Line came second in the sports car class up to 2-liter displacement behind the Ferrari 500 Mondial by François Picard and Charles Pozzi .

1955

1955 Le Mans 24-hour race

At the beginning of the 1955 season, the Bristol 450 received an open body. The vehicles were again driven by Wisdom / Fairman, Keen / Line and Wilson / Mayers. At the end of the race, the Bristol took the first three places in their class. In the overall ranking, Wilson / Mayers finished seventh, Keen / Line eighth and Wisdom / Fairman ninth. Bristol donated the prize to a fund that helped the victims injured or killed by Pierre Levegh's vehicle.

1955 Reims 12 hour race

Bristol had registered for the Reims 12-hour race scheduled for July 1955. However, the event was canceled after the fatal accident at the previous Le Mans race. Bristol then withdrew from motorsport at the factory.

Scope of production

The literature usually assumes that three examples of the Bristol 450 were made, which have undergone various changes over time. The Bristol Owners Club confirms this number on its website. After the end of the factory involvement, the three vehicles were dismantled in the factory. From the best-preserved individual parts, an example was assembled that belonged to Tony Crook's collection for several decades before he sold it to a brand lover in the 1990s.

In the course of 1954, Bristol considered producing a street version of the 450 with a 170 hp engine and modified body, but ultimately abandoned these plans because the expected sales price of the vehicle was estimated to be far too high and the market too small.

literature

• Garrick M. Lightowler: The Bristol 450 . Presentation and description in: Car Life from August 27, 1954
• NN :: A modern sports / racing car: The Bristol 450 . In: Motor Sport, August 1953.
• NN: Bristol 450: Great Unknown . In: Car and Driver, February 1962.
• AJ Pritchard: Bristol-built - but air-inspired . In: Sporting Motorist, February 1962.

Web links

• The Bristol 450 on the Bristol Owners Club website , accessed September 8, 2010
• Bristol Racing History Summary on the Bristol Owners Club website , accessed September 8, 2010
• Graphic representation of the Bristol 450 at www.the-blueprints.com , accessed September 8, 2010
• Contemporary newspaper ads and billboards for the Bristol 450 at www.car-brochures.eu , accessed September 9, 2010.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Car Life, August 27, 1954.
2. ↑ ^{a b c d} Car and Driver, February 1962.
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Sporting Motorist, October 1962.
4. ^ Motor Sport, August 1953.
5. ↑ Car and Driver, February 1962: "They saw the tops from the coupés to form roadsters" ("They sawed off the roofs of the coupés to make roadsters out of them.").
6. ↑ Moity / Teissedre 24 Hours of Le Mans from 1923 to 1992.
7. ↑ See model statistics at www.racingsportscars.com
8. ^ Car and Driver, January 1962, p. 34.
9. ↑ Model history on the Bristol Owners Club website . A single other source assumes that four vehicles were allegedly shown side by side in a photo; see. Andrew Blow, Bristol Owners Bulletin 2007.
10. ↑ Model history on the Bristol Owners Club website .
11. ↑ Model history on the Bristol Owners Club website .