[D]

Bristol started building aircraft in 1910 and by 1920 was also building aero-engines. By 1939 it had the largest manufacturing facility of its type in the world.

Interest in building cars may have started as early as the early 1920's when Bristol made the bodies for a number of 30hp Armstrong-Siddeley's. Later in the 1930's some consideration was given to buying Aston Martin. A wartime document of October 1941 laid out Bristol's post-war planning and envisaged cars of 2 to 2.5-Litres with six-cylinders and a number of manufacturers such as Lancia and BMW were cited as examples of production standards to follow.

In 1945 George Stanley Middleton White (grandson of Sir George White, the founding chairman) headed the newly established Car and Light Engineering Divisions. The main object was to avoid the drop in aviation business that had happened after the previous war by diversification in to other areas. As it turned out, there was a boom in aircraft sales as Bristol moved into the jet age.

Donald Arthur Aldington, who, with his brother Harold John, had imported BMW cars from 1934 and marketed them as Frazer Nash-BMW's. The brothers joined the Royal and Mechanical Engineers. Harold had an accident in his car and was invalided out of the forces and joined the Ministry of Aircraft Production as an engineer-inspector. His brother was posted to Bristol and got to hear of George White's plans for the post-war car market and informed his brother. Harold arrived at Bristol with a BMW 327/80. This car impressed George and as the Aldington's were looking to find a secure future for Frazer Nash production, Bristol took a majority shareholding in AFN in July 1945. As the European war had now ended, Harold went to Munich to recover the prototype BMW 328 that he had crashed in 1939. He never located the car but brought back one of the 328's prepared for the 1940 Mille Miglia race. This car was the starting point for the new generation of Frazer Nash sports cars.

In a later trip to Munich Harold purchased six BMW engines and blueprints for the 326, 327 and 328 models. A Stirling bomber was used to transport the engines.

In June 1945 John Perrett was taken on as Frazer Nash and Bristol's chief designer. Perrett had previously worked under Reid Railton at Thompson and Taylor and for both MG and Vauxhall. The former head of Bristol's armament division, Major George Abell, was made manager of the Car division. Abell had a motor industry background, beginning as an engine tester for Maudslay and later for Sheffield-Simplex. He had also run Connaught coachbuilding and been joint managing director of Invicta Car Sales.

The decision was taken in September 1945 to produce 250 each of saloons and drop-head coupés to sell at £1000 and £1050. Provisionally designated the 400/85. One year later in September 1946 details of the Frazer Nash-Bristol were revealed to the motoring press. The 400's body was designed using a wind tunnel and was a two-door coupe with a grill very similar to the BMW. It consisted of steel panels over a timber frame with alloy doors, boot and bonnet. A wooden dashbord was used instead of BMW's metal one. The chassis was based on the 326 as the 327 had restricted rear seating.

Four pre-production 400's were made and two were to be displayed at the 1947 Geneva Motor Show to be held in March. By the following month the agreement with Frazer Nash had ceased and the saloons were sold as Bristols and the open cars discontinued.

The first 400's were ready in mid 1947, by now priced at £2373, mainly due to the doubling of purchase tax for cars over £1000, making it over twice the price of a Jaguar MkV saloon. Despite this the cars sold well with over 425 400 saloons sold by 1950.

November 1948 saw the 401 and the BMW derived engine continued in use untill the 406 ceased production in 1961 to be replaced by a Chrysler V8.

The association with the Bristol Aeroplane parent stopped in 1960 and Bristol survives as one of the few car makers in British ownership.

E-Mail: history@britishmm.co.uk