Post-war icon
Bristol tends to be one of those marques you hear little about these days, however the English make has a world-wide and very active enthusiast club, which tends to indulge in a lot of international travel with the cars.
The level of interest probably has to do with the quirky nature and history of its product, as we highlighted in an online feature: “Bristol elected to apply the techniques of aircraft construction to motor vehicle manufacturing, creating a car that was based – ironically – on a pre-war BMW.
“Its 400 was introduced in 1946 and powered by an engine that was virtually identical to the 2.0-litre BMW six-cylinder. Early cars had aircraft-style timber framing with steel and aluminium body panels. By 1949 when a restyled 401 version appeared, the entire body structure was made from aluminium over a steel tube frame.”
This 403 runs a 2.0lt inline six engine matched to a four-speed manual transmission.
It’s with the Healey Factory in Melbourne, priced at $89,500.