There is no more Bristol Cars

The luxury sports car maker from London fades into history facing insolvency after eight decades of successful operation.

The company started off in mid-20th century with BMW tech under the hood. In the 1960s, its range expanded to include such motorsports icons as the Series 6, Blenheim Speedster, Blenheim, and Fighter (see the gallery and the video for an overview of the latter). The Fighter stayed in production until 2011 and extracted 1,026 PS (1,012 hp, or 755 kW) out of its V10 8.0 mill. It hit 100 km/h (62 mph) from standstill in mere 3.5 seconds and maxed out at 362 km/h (225 mph).

The marque announced itself insolvent in 2011, but Kamkorp Autocraft acted soon on the announcement, purchasing it and straightening the financial situation for a while. The company’s last production vehicle – the Bristol Bullet with a 400-hp (298-kW) BMW engine under the hood – hit the market in 2017.