Classic British Automaker You’ve Never Heard Of Is Coming Back To Life

The effort to bring back Bristol Cars hasn’t stopped. The CEO of the latest iteration of the British specialty car company has just posted on social media that he expects the company to relaunch with a new car in time for the company’s 80th anniversary, offering electric, hybrid, and plain old gas horsepower if the roll-out goes to plan. The Miata was modeled after classic British sports cars, but very few of them still exist. Perhaps a diverse approach to powertrains can help Bristol make the comeback so many compatriots have been unable to thus far.

An 80-Year-Old British Brand

While Bristol Cars CEO Jason Wharton is making that announcement on LinkedIn, the reborn automaker’s website shares little more by way of details – or much of anything. It has a Survey Monkey survey that asks about how readers feel about the brand’s revival, but it speaks to those plans from 2021, not today. Those plans centered around ambitions to open dealers and experience centers, but there’s not much about the cars themselves.

Related

Car Brands You’ve Never Heard Of

If you’ve heard of even half of these, you get an internet cookie.

Despite that dated survey, the site says “We are reviving Bristol Cars as a 21st century British Electric Vehicle company in time for the 80th year of its founding.” That milestone arrives in 2026, as the automaker was established as part of the Bristol Aeroplane Company in 1945.

Bristol built a series of sports cars, including coupes and convertibles, from 1946 through 2011. Some may be familiar with the Bristol Fighter, a car launched in 2004 powered by the 8.0-liter V10 engine it borrowed from the Dodge Viper.

First Car Is A Retro Reimagining of 1969 Type 411

The automaker never produced in high volumes and remained one of the country’s most obscure brands. But some of the cars were well-styled and appealing luxury grand tourers. One of its best was the Type 411, which was built from 1969 through 1976. That car looks to be the main inspiration for the car in Wharton’s post.

In 2020, Wharton bought Bristol Cars’ assets at auction. The next year, he first announced plans to bring back the automaker, saying he wanted it to be Britain’s top EV company by 2025. He had planned to release “remastered” versions of the Fighter and Type 411 with more modern engines and suspensions, though the cars never went on sale. Wharton re-announced plans to restore the cars last year, with deliveries promised to start in 2024/2025.

Add CarBuzz to your Google News feed.

Related

It’s Official: Bristol To Unveil New Car This Month

It’s all going down in the only showroom the company has!

Wharton posted that this new model would be available in electric, hybrid, and “fossil fuel” forms, but in which order these variants will be released remains to be confirmed. There’s no word yet on where the cars will be built, or what engines or electric drive systems the automaker plans to use. Traditionally, the company has used Chrysler power, with Chrysler V8s (and that Dodge V10) under its hoods since 1961.