For a company that made some of the most innovative and intelligently designed road cars way back when, it’s sad to think there will be many for whom a Bristol will only ever be seen as something rather crusty and fusty and slightly unfashionable.
The Fighter tried to change that perception. It was the product of a new broom, whose injection of cash gave the tiny firm the wherewithal to develop a brand-new model.
It was a gullwing-doored, two-seat supercar with 200mph-plus performance, to be made at the rate of 20 per year. As ever with Bristol, everything was to be of the highest quality, but function would still rank higher than fashion.
As such, it would have the lowest possible drag coefficient but eschew any notions of downforce, and it would do without the intrusive electronically modulated systems to be found in its most obvious competitors, these being thought a mere substitute for the balance and control that come from proper engineering. It would also be luxuriously trimmed inside and be comfortable enough for high-speed continental touring.
In 2004, it became possible to buy one, but alas, for whatever reasons, in the long run only a very few did.
Why? Well, it has been said before but it looks a lot better in the aluminium and carbon composite than it does in photographs. There are hints of such heart-stopping beauties as the various Alfa Romeo TZs about its overall design, although being ship-shape and Bristol fashion, the Fighter is deliberately taller and narrower than the supercar norm.
It is perhaps, like a lot of us, a little sensitive to camera angles… Whatever it looks like, it all works, because the drag coefficient is an impressive 0.28. It is also delightfully compact and admirably lightweight, too, at under 1600kg.
That means there’s even less for the mighty 525bhp 8.0-litre V10 under its bonnet to fight against, and it’s no wonder claimed performance is of the order of 0-60mph in 4.0sec with a top speed of around 210mph.
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It appears to have been put together in a backyard garden shed. It is not surprising that there were few takers. Great if you are selling to the odd rich, but I would have assumed that was about it.
Looks like something that was put together in a back garden shed. Not surprised there were not many takers. Fine if you are selling to the rich eccentric but that's about it I would have thought.
Actual "Cool Britannia". I hoped values wwould plummet when they shut down but I was wrong.
Surprised somebody hasn't commented that they don't see very many of these at the Aldi carpark...