Bristol Fighter

Bristol
Fighter
Production period:	2004-2009
Class :	Sports car
Body versions :	Coupe
Engines:	Petrol engines : 8.0 liters (385–755 kW)
Length:	4420 mm
Width:	1795 mm
Height:	1345 mm
Wheelbase :	2750 mm
Empty weight :	1540 kg

The Bristol Fighter is a sports car by the British car manufacturer Bristol Cars , which was produced between 2004 and 2009. The Fighter was the company's first completely new design in several decades; it had no technical or stylistic similarities with the brand's four-seater sedans, which conceptually went back to a pre-war construction. The fighter equipped with gullwing doors was offered for several years in parallel with the Bristol Blenheim . It was only produced in low double-digit numbers.

The background

Bristol Cars found itself in economic trouble in the 1990s. In the past decade, the company had offered the Britannia , Brigand and Bristol Beaufighter models, which were getting on in years and could only be sold in small numbers even on the home market. The successor, the Blenheim introduced in 1993, did not bring any lasting improvement. It was generally believed that the style of the first version was unsuccessful, and its performance clearly lagged behind that of earlier models.

In 1997, Tony Crook , the long-time sole owner of the brand, had to sell shares in his company. The new partner was British businessman Toby Silverton, who was associated with the investment company Tavistock Group . Four years later, Silverton took over the traditional British sports car manufacturer completely.

Silverton's stake opened up new sources of finance for the company. They enabled Crook and Silverton to make Bristol's range of products more attractive. Silverton did not take up Crook's considerations of developing a completely new volume model - the first attempts had been made in the mid-1990s with a vehicle known as the Bristol Buccaneer. Instead, the Blenheim was updated in two steps in 1998 and 2001 to the point that it had become a high-performance and attractive saloon whose sales could be consolidated. In addition, Silverton saw space for an exclusive, high-performance sports car produced in small numbers, which functioned as a second pillar and should stand in the tradition of the Bristol 404 , which is revered in the classic car scene . Silverton initiated the development of this vehicle back in 1999; It was given the name Fighter at an early stage, which - as it had become a tradition - was reminiscent of a fighter aircraft of the same name . A first press release on the Fighter project was published in December 1999; a little later, the Bristol Cars website contained a note about the fighter. In December 1999, Bristol exhibited a wooden model of the future sports car in the showroom on Kensington High Street for the first time. The development work took five years. The first prototype was completed in 2003, and production of the fighter began in mid-2004.

The importance of the fighter is seen today as ambivalent. On the one hand, the vehicle documents the technical capabilities of the company, on the other hand, the high development costs are seen as the main reason for Bristol's bankruptcy in 2011.

The concept

The conceptual specification for the fighter came from Toby Silverton himself. The fighter should be a light and compact sports car, with the comfort typical of the brand and outstandingly low air resistance. The specifications included sufficient space for the driver, a small turning circle and stability of the vehicle at high speeds. The disadvantages associated with conventional "super sports cars" such as lack of comfort or vulnerabilities should be avoided. In general, Silverton was based on the concept of the American Dodge Viper, stylistically the structure took up some elements of the Alfa Romeo Nuvola concept vehicle .

The construction

Rear view of the Bristol Fighter

Quotes classic role models: The front section of the fighter

While the basic concept of the fighter went back to Toby Silverton, the individual development work was carried out by the Canadian engineer Max Boxstrom, who had worked primarily in the motorsport sector as a designer for Brabham , Williams , Martini and Aston Martin since the 1970s .

The fighter rested on a platform chassis that was developed exclusively for this vehicle. It no longer had any references to the traditional Bristol chassis, which was based on a pre-war BMW design . The side parts of the chassis were exposed. They enable a very low seating position in the passenger compartment. The suspension has also been completely redesigned. It consisted of double wishbones and coil springs at the front and rear . Bristol did without electronic aids in the chassis.

The drive was an 8.0 liter ten-cylinder engine from Chrysler , the basic design of which was used in the first generation of the Dodge Viper (1992 to 2002). It has been revised in detail; Among other things, Bristol installed cylinder heads developed in-house.

In its basic version, the engine developed 385 kW, about 81 kW more than the original American engine. In addition, Bristol later offered derivatives with more power with the Fighter S and the Fighter T. The power was transmitted either via a manual six-speed gearbox or via a four-speed automatic. The engine and transmission were located between the front and rear axles; this enabled a balanced weight distribution of 50:50 to be achieved.

The body of the fighter was designed with aerodynamic efficiency in mind. The drag coefficient was 0.28. In the later version of the Fighter T, it could be reduced to 0.255. The aim of achieving the best possible overview led to extensive glazing of the driver's cab. The double doors were a special design feature. The structure was made of aluminum, while the doors were made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic .

In terms of style, the fighter was independent. The rounded front section with the four recessed round headlights remotely quoted the design of the Bristol 450 racing car .

Overall, the fighter was narrower, shorter and lighter than most of its competitors. At the same time, the roof was significantly higher, so that even tall drivers could find adequate space.

Versions

Bristol Fighter at Goodwood Festival of Speed ​​2011

Bristol Fighter

The basic version is the Bristol Fighter . Its engine developed 525 hp (386 kW); the maximum speed was according to the factory at 340 km / h.

Bristol Fighter S

In the Bristol Fighter S presented in 2005, the engine output had been increased to 628 hp (462 kW). Chassis and body largely corresponded to the basic version.

Bristol Fighter T

The top model was the Bristol Fighter T , with two turbochargers . According to the factory, the turbocharged engine developed 1027 hp (755 kW) and the maximum torque was over 1400 Nm. This made the Fighter T more powerful than the Bugatti Veyron, whose engine delivered 736 kW (1001 hp). The Fighter T was only supplied with a manual six-speed gearbox. The chassis had been redesigned considerably; the chassis was about 30% stronger than that of the standard fighter. At the same time, the weight of the car was further reduced. The maximum speed of the Fighter T was over 400 km / h according to the factory specification, but was limited to 362 km / h. There is no independent review of this information.

Engines and performance

model	Engine type	Engine charging	Displacement (cm³)	Max. Power kW)	Max. Torque (Nm)	Acceleration 0-60 mph	Top speed (km / h)
Fighter	V10	-	7994	385 at 5500 rpm	712 at 4200 rpm	approx. 4.0 s	340
Fighter S				462 at 5900 rpm	790 at 3900 rpm	4.0 s
Fighter T		two turbochargers		755 at 5600 rpm	1405 at 4500 rpm	3.5 s	362 (1)

⁽¹⁾ regulated

Press

The work enabled only a few journalists to take a test drive in a fighter. The British Evo magazine was the first to receive a (standard) fighter in 2005, and the same car was test-driven by the Financial Times two years later . The British magazine The Independent, on the other hand, had to use a private customer's car for an impression.

Most of the reports praised the driving performance, the good handling of the car and the all-round visibility. On the other hand, criticism was also expressed. The chassis was “underdeveloped” and the switches in the interior, milled from aluminum blocks, looked like “homemade”, which they were.

Scope of production

The fighter was only produced in small numbers. Some publications claim that Bristol had completed a total of 45 vehicles by 2008, including some prototypes. In a sales advertisement from 2014, however, the plant put the production volume at just 14 copies. Then the last copy of the Fighter was assembled in 2009. But this information is also doubted. Some reports assume only nine completed fighters.

It is not known whether a Fighter T was ever delivered. The chairman of the Bristol Owners Club doubts it. Production of the Fighter ended in early 2011 with the bankruptcy of Bristol Cars. It is unclear whether the new owner, the British company Kamkorp, will resume production. Kamkorp is known for its hybrid technology.

literature

• 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 the Fighter: p. 100).
• Christopher Balfour: Bristol Cars. A very British story . 2009 (Haynes Publishing) ISBN 978-1-844254071
• Martin Buckley: A very special Bristol: Anyone want to start a Fighter? In: The Independent of January 31, 2006.
• John Griffiths: Flight of Fancy . In: Financial Times Weekend. Issued August 23, 2008.
• Hauke ​​Schrieber: The wondrous world of Bristol . Autobild Klassik 1/2007, p. 126 ff.
• LKJ Setright: First Look: Bristol Fashion - Bristol Fighter . Autocar dated December 1, 1999.

Web links

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

• Description of the fighter on the Bristol Cars homepage ( Memento from May 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
• Description of the fighter on the Bristol Owners Club homepage
• Evo magazine report on the Bristol Fighter
• Octane magazine review from January 2012

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The German car catalog, for example, spoke of "strangely styled coupés": 1993/94 edition (No. 37), p. 44.
2. ^ Balfour: Bristol Cars. P. 357.
3. ^ Setright: Bristol Fashion - First look: The Bristol Fighter. In: Autocar, December 1, 1999.
4. ↑ Octane Classic and Performance Cars, Issue 4/2012, p. 100.
5. ^ Balfour: Bristol Cars. Pp. 357, 359, 367.
6. ^ Setright: Bristol Fashion - First look: The Bristol Fighter. In: Autocar, December 1, 1999.
7. ↑ Model description on the website of the British motorsport magazine evo (accessed on May 2, 2011).
8. ↑ The length of the fighter was 4422 mm; a Porsche 911 was a few millimeters longer, while the Bugatti Veyron exceeded the fighter by almost 20 cm.
9. ^ Buckley: A very special Bristol. In: The Independent of January 31, 2006.
10. ^ Griffiths: Flight of Fancy. Financial Times of August 23, 2008.
11. ↑ Model description on the website of the British motorsport magazine evo (accessed on May 2, 2011).
12. ^ Advertisement for a fighter on www.bristolcars.co.uk ( Memento from May 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (accessed on July 29, 2014).
13. ↑ Sara Scarlett: British motoring icon that has reached the end of the road: Fascinating history of Bristol Cars after cult manufacturer that was beloved by a host of celebrity owners including Liam Gallagher and Sir Richard Branson enters Liquidation. dailymail.co.uk, March 5, 2020, accessed March 8, 2020 . 
14. ↑ Schrieber: The wondrous world of Bristol. Autobild Klassik 1/2007.