New Bristol Fighter sports car gets V10 power and gullwing doors
Five new examples of the Bristol Fighter are due to be built, as British marque celebrates its 80th anniversary
Bristol Cars is back, and the British brand is celebrating both its resurrection and 80th birthday with a new run of its unconventional, V10-engined, gull-winged sports car, the Fighter.
The model was unveiled back in 2004 and was the marque’s last new car before it went into administration in 2011. The two-seat GT was powered by a modified version of the Dodge Viper’s 8.0-litre V10 engine – one of the largest engines ever fitted into a road car – which still features in the new models.
This motor produces 525bhp as standard, but customers can up the ante to 600bhp. We don’t know the 0-62mph time, but the company claims the Fighter will reach a top speed of 210mph.
Only about a dozen or so Fighters were made, and the company is set to build just five more. Manufacturing will take place in the UK using an unnamed “prestigious partner”, with the cars to be built on unused chassis left over from the original production run, using other drawings and parts.
The car you see here is the first of the new batch, finished in black with a tan interior, and the remaining four cars that are waiting to be snapped up will be completed to their owners’ specifications.
The price will only be revealed to potential buyers, but given that the Bristol Fighter cost about £235,000 back in the noughties, it can only be higher than that. Bristol says the Fighter can be configured in either right or left-hand drive and exported to various markets, including the USA.
Bringing back the Bristol Fighter “represents more than the revival of an individual model,” the company said. “It completes a programme left unfinished when manufacturing ended, reconnects Bristol Cars with a tangible part of its history and establishes the first chapter in the marque’s return.”
The company added that the new cars will provide “a natural bridge between what Bristol was and what it intends to become”. Exactly what the company has in store next is still under wraps, but supposedly “the foundations are being laid for the marque’s future ambitions: a vision built on the same individuality, engineering integrity and craftsmanship that have always defined the company.”
Perhaps we will finally see the Bristol Bullet speedster, which was unveiled in 2016, go into production. It featured a 370bhp 4.8-litre V8 engine from BMW – also used by fellow British brand Morgan – a six-speed manual gearbox and carbon-fibre composites, which allowed it to weigh just 1,100kg. The 0-62mph sprint was said to take just 3.8 seconds.
Leading the rebirth of Bristol Cars is new owner and director Paul King. He’s joined by chairman Richard Hackett, who worked at Bristol Cars for over 20 years during the era when the Fighter was originally conceived and built, serving as an adviser to former boss Tony Crook. Hackett is considered to be “a leading authority” on the company’s history, cars and customer base, with his return meant to provide a connection between Bristol’s past and future.
Hackett said: “Bristol has always been about doing things differently. It was never a mass-market manufacturer. It built exceptional cars in small numbers for people who appreciated their individuality, engineering and character.”
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