More weekend pictures: Detail shots 2

This BMW was among the Bristol cars; a 502 coupé (I think).

It may seem like an odd interloper but the chassis was related to the one used by Bristol and the earlier, six-cylinder version used the six-cylinder engine from which Bristol’s ‘six’ was developed.

I’m not sure it is pretty but it has presence and the V8 badge on the boot is rather stylish.

Bristol photos from the weekend

It was the Bristol Owners Club annual Concours d’Elegance this weekend. This year it was held at the Airbus facility (formerly the home of the Bristol Aeroplane Company and still the home of Bristol Cars) in Filton, Bristol. Over 200 Bristol cars from around the world turned up to join the celebrations.

Here is a selection of my favourites from the weekend.

Car and other photos from the weekend

The main event of the weekend, at least for me, was the Bristol Owners Club annual Concours d’Elegance. This year it was held at the Airbus facility (formerly the home of the Bristol Aeroplane Company) in Filton, Bristol. As well as over 200 Bristol cars there was a selection of Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars, some classic cars owned by the factory’s motor club and a Lotus Elite (the glassfibre bodies for the final series of Elites was made by Bristol). There were also some aircraft (as you’d expect).

Enjoy the photos.

Thinking of buying something different

I know my trusty Citroën BX will not last forever and the prospect of promotion at work has set my mind to thinking of buying a different car. Watching the historic motor racing at Oulton Park last weekend and a passenger ride in a friend’s MG Midget has left me hankering for a classic.

A Midget probably wouldn’t do, I would like something that is capable of sustaining a decent motorway cruising speed and that I can drive for a couple of hours at a time. Although I don’t need to use a car for commuting I would need something happy to live outside in all weathers that could be used every weekend without demanding too much maintenance. Such maintenance as is required should not be so complex as to be beyond my modest mechanical ability, nor too expensive if I ask others to carry it out. Other practical considerations should, I suppose, include reasonable fuel consumption – ideally no worse than 20mpg. Emotional considerations, for want of a better expression, are that I would like something good to drive. A decent turn of speed would be good but not necessarily essential; what is more important is tactility; steering that is slop-free, accurate and if possible high-geared; similarly I’d like a gear lever that moves with slickness and speed, ideally controlling a well-spaced set of ratios; pedals should be well-spaced for heel-and-toe action and hopefully not needing either excessive pedal travel or undue effort. I’d also like something stylish – foolish, I know.

I imagine a two-litre Bristol would be perfect; sadly, such things are beyond my pocket and possibly require more specialised care and attention than I could give. Only one car in my experience has come close to meeting my requirements; the MGB roadster. I don’t think I’d want a roadster, a GT would be better for my needs, leaving only a few doubts about whether I could cope with just two seats. Other possibilities I have considered, without knowing if they are sensible or not, are the Triumph GT6 and Volvo Amazon.

There are two questions I need to answer. Firstly, is it a mistake to subject a classic to the sort of treatment I’d give it; i.e. using it twice a week whilst keeping it outside when not in use? Secondly, what cars would you suggest, given a notional budget of about £2,000?

Weekend catch up part 3

Time to cover some of the highlights of the Gold Cup weekend. One of my favourite things about the Gold Cup is the support from local classic car clubs who bring all manner of interesting machinery. I failed to photograph a very tidy chrome-bumper Alfa Romeo Alfasud but whoever owns it deserves a medal for keeping it in such great condition.

To start with, the Rolls-Royce enthusiasts club gathered some lovely cars, including a good many series-1 Silver Shadows but my heart was more taken by this Corniche.



If you prefer older cars there was this lovely Thrupp and Maberley 20/25 saloon.



It looked imposing although I noticed a distinct lack of rear-seat leg room. This is certainly not a R-R in which to be chauffeured. Even more interesting was this Silver Cloud.



According to the notice in the window this was a development vehicle and had been fitted with an experimental V8 engine (although I believe it now has the production V8).

It wasn’t just Rolls-Royces, Bentleys were well represented too. I think this is an S-series Bentley Flying Spur Continental but I’ve never seen one with suicide rear doors before.



My favourite Bentley was this one.



Not sure what model it is but I love the lines of this two-door coupé. I’m not sure I have captured its best angle but the cars were so tightly packed it was difficult to get back far enough to line up the photos – especially as I didn’t want to risk scratching someone’s pride and joy.

Lots of Jaguars turned up including plenty of XKs:











The last car was parked in the paddock rather than on open display. Whenever you go to a historic race meeting it is always worth having a look at the cars being prepared for racing, not only do you see interesting machinery like the Jaguar above but on the whole it is a friendly and relaxed place to be. Just remember not to get in the way of anyone working hard to prepare a car for racing.

Jaguars were also present on the track, including Peter Lanfranchi’s standard-looking Series-1 E-type and Steve Tandy’s Lightweight E.



The lightweight E-types did very well in their race but smaller, lighter TVRs with big, American Ford V8 engines seemed to go faster.



In fact plenty of almost prosaic machinery was giving the expensive stuff a run for its money. MGBs, for example, can go far faster than you’d think possible.



I hope this hasn’t been a pictorial overload; I’d like to finish with a personal favourite sighting. It is a Bristol 400 in very tidy condition but looking like a car that is used and enjoyed as it should be.

Of Instruments and Museums

Last weekend I visited my friend Simon, owner of the utterly charming MG Midget which I have mentioned before. Sadly, the Midget is not entirely well as you can read in Simon’s blog. But, component failure aside, the Midget did offer an interesting illustration of a phenomenon that is usually overlooked. Most cars, if they have a temperature gauge at all, only show you the engine temperature when the ignition is switched on. However, the Midget comes from a time before electrical transducers and has a mechanical temperature gauge, which shows the temperature even after you switch off the engine. When the engine stops the coolant pump and fan stop and the coolant just sits, picking up heat from the engine, with a mechanical temperature gauge you can actually watch the needle move towards the “H” marker. Wait long enough and the needle will drop back as the engine cools.

This weekend I visited the Coventry Transport Museum. As I may have said before, one of the reasons I like this museum is the way the exhibits are moved regularly so that there is always something new to see on each visit. The latest special exhibition is a celebration of anniversaries; the 60th anniversary of the Land Rover and Morris Minor and the 40th year of the Jaguar XJ6. It seems anniversaries only count if they are whole multiples of ten! There were some interesting substitutions among the exhibits. Using a Tygan Porsche 356 speedster recreation (developed, I believe from the famous Chesli Speedster) in place of a 1948 Porsche 356 was understandable, the Rover P4 in lieu of a 1958 P5 3-litre Rover was odd but the signage made it clear that it was only a temporary situation. No mention was made of the fact that the “Jaguar XJ6” was clearly an XJ12 series one (built in 1972-3 although Jaguar intended to launch the XJ with the V12 in ’68. Even more unusual was the presence of Daimler wheel trims (you would hope the museum could source the correct parts). Even so, it was a great exhibit even if it ignored the most meritorious 60-year old car, the 1948 Bristol 401.

2008 Wish list – a few more things

Time to finish the New Year wish list with a few final ideas:

Visit the Geneva Motor Show – The Geneva show is possibly the most prestigious motor show and with cheap flights isn’t as expensive to go as you might think. If this wish doesn’t come true I have only myself to blame. Need to get my skates on and book.

Drive more cars – At the start of each year I wonder what I am going to drive. Keeping up with the latest and best new cars is a difficult business – with any luck I’ll manage to borrow some press cars in 2008. I’d like to have a go in the Fiat 500 and the Renault Laguna coupé with 4WS (although that might be due in 2009).

Get published more often – it is a bit of a chicken and egg situation but hopefully the more cars I can drive the more saleable features I’ll generate and the more stories I can get in print the more likely it is I’ll be able to borrow press cars from the manufacturers.

Drive a Bristol up the Fosse Way – don’t know how likely this is but when I drove up the Fosse a couple of months back I wondered how nice it would be to do the journey in a decent car. I could practically hear the thrum of the Bristol’s BMW-derived 6-cylinder engine and see the view over the curvaceous bonnet. Or would I prefer the hushed progress and generous view from a later V8 Bristol? Better try both I think.

All that remains is to wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.

Classic Motor Show 2007

Although I don’t go to lots of classic car shows throughout the year I try never to miss the annual Classic Motor Show at the NEC, just outside Solihull (it is misleading to refer to the NEC, Birmingham). It fills four of the NEC’s exhibition halls and attracts a variety of clubs and dealers who all do a great job of bringing along interesting machinery. Apologies for the lack of pictures but I’ve never managed to take decent pictures at one of these shows.

A personal favourite was the Bristol Owners Club who brought along the 406S - a special, short-chassis version of the 406 saloon with bodywork in the style of the Bristol 404 (there was a 404 next to it for comparative purposes and an early 411 at the back of the stand looking as sober, purposeful and handsome as only a 411 can). The 406S was one of two short-chassis 4060s made by Bristol – the other receiving a low, 2-seat body by Zagato.

Other favourites included a 1969 Plymouth Road Runner on the Classic American magazine stand. As with most, if not all, cars on display it was spotlessly clean and beautifully presented; a beautiful example of one of my favourite muscle cars. Another big V8-powered coupe that I yearned for was a stunning 2-tone Rover 3.5 litre coupé otherwise known as the P5B.


It is the interior and dashboard of the P5B that I particularly love although the styling and engine are good as well.

If you wanted to wallow - or just take a quick dip - in nostalgia the show is a good place to do so. I saw a Mk1 Ford Fiesta like one owned by my parents and a yellow Mk1 VW Golf like the one owned by my best friend’s family. So many memories of childhood days out…


That was one of the nicer things about this show; it was nice to see basic models not just the sporting or luxury variants of popular cars. Everyone knows about the Talbot Sunbeam Lotus but I had forgotten about the 1.0 litre basic version (and how basic it is). Ford Capris were well represented and while the 3 litre and 2.8injection models were well represented there were also lesser 1.6 and 2-litre versions – including a 2 litre V4 mark 1. How simple, basic and insubstantial those popular old cars seem now. Conversely, are new cars overstuffed and un-necessarily complicated?

Another nice thing to see was interesting details that I’d not previously noticed. There was a Citroën GS and I realised that the radio was between the seats and the handbrake was on the dashboard. I admired the woodwork instrument pod of the Mercedes-Benz 600 and 220SE coupe. I had forgotten how small and neat the Suzuki SC100 is and I still don’t know why but I do think the FD-series Vauxhall Victor is an incredibly handsome car.

Picture of the Week – Bristol 603

Several years ago I worked in Knightsbridge, London. One of the fringe benefits for any car enthusiast was the number of interesting cars in the area. HR Owen had a showroom up the road where a selection of Ferraris could be found, there was a Rolls-Royce Camargue that parked round the corner but it was the Bristol 603 that always caught my eye. It looked like it was well used although I only saw it being driven once, by an attractive blonde lady.

The 603 was launched in 1976 to replace the 411, mechanically they were more or less identical but the 603 had a controversial new body – the passenger compartment was wider and more spacious but did look a little too wide for the rest of the body.

Sad news for Bristol fans

It seems that thieves have stolen the presses used to make the panels for the Bristol Blenheim. The presses, which weigh up to 30 tonnes, are thought to have been stolen for their scrap value – far less than the cost Bristol will incur replacing them.

What sort of world are we living in? You simply wouldn’t think anyone would consider stealing something like this. Maybe it will give Bristol the opportunity to develop a more shapely new body for the Blenheim range. There are those who would be happy if Bristol dusted off the tooling for the 411 range. The problem is the cost of developing and type approving a new body. I just hope it doesn’t mean the end of Bristol Cars.

From the archives - A nice pair of Bristols

I mean Bristol cars, of course. I've been going through some of my old photos and I found these which represent 2 of my favourite 4-wheeled things.



This is a Bristol 406 Zagato of 1959, they only made 6 so you've probably never seen one before. The 406Z was smaller and lighter than the standard 406 saloon and had a more powerful engine. The famous motoring writer LJK Setright had a 406 Zagato.



This is a Bristol 409. Commercial pressures forced Bristol to stop building their own engines and instead fitted Canadian Chrysler V8 engines. The 409 had power steering and better weight distribution than earlier V8 Bristols, although bristol owners and enthusiasts tend to fall into loyal pro and anti V8 camps.

Click on the title to go to the Bristol Owners Club site if you want to find out more about the company and the cars.