The Bristol Fighter is the latest in the long line of Bristol cars that includes the Le Mans Class-winning cars of the 1950s. It is quite new, looks different, yet harks back to the origin of the company in its use of aircraft-derived ideas – Bristol Cars used to be part of an aircraft company.
With a massive V-10 engine, the Bristol Fighter is very quick, yet has the space and luxury needed for long-distance cruising. And the power to indulge in power slides if you so wish.
Here then is a new addition to the world of ultra-fast grand touring supercars. Bristol claims it is capable of about 210 mph, and will race to 60 mph in 4 seconds. Yet the gearing is designed to give effortless cruising. At 100 mph the engine is turning over at a leisurely 2,450 rpm.
Massive V-10, plenty of power
Bristol has been building sedans powered by Chrysler V-8s for many years – they started off using their own 2.0 liter engines which were powerful enough to be used by Cooper in some of their racing cars. Bristol Cars graduated to the big V-8s when it became uneconomic to produce their own engines.
So it was natural that the Fighter should be powered by a modified version of the massive 8.0 liter V-10 from the Dodge Viper. Power at any speed is not a problem with this car: the output is 525 bhp at 5,600 rpm, increasing to 550 bhp at high road speeds owing to the ram effect created by the air intake system.
Maximum torque is terrific - 525 lb ft (714 Nm) at 3,600 rpm, and there is more torque available at 1,000 rpm than most engines dream of.
Not enough power? No problem. Buy the Bristol Fighter S, and you get an engine developing 628 bhp rising to 660 bhp at 5,900 rpm, with the torque increased to 580 lb ft (785 Nm) at 3,900 rpm. Of course, the Fighter S also gets some other mods including stiffer suspension. The Fighter S should be capable of 220 mph.
Unassumingly good looks
So does the Bristol Fighter look the part? Yes, it does in a quirky but unassumingly British way. The front has a shallow chin below the simple oval grille, and the four circular headlamps are recessed into the body. At the front, the fenders are a little higher than the long hood, and the tear-drop shaped coachroof of the strictly two-seater body slopes back into a vertical tail. There is a huge wrap-around rear window with a small window set below that in the tail to improve rear vision – and all-round vision is clearly one of the car’s assets.
The air outlets in the sides hint at the power available, but otherwise, there are no fancy diffusers or obvious aerodynamic aids. Bristol claims that the basic shape gives low drag and a lack of lift. The Cd is claimed to be just 0.28, which is extremely good. Mind you, in the 50s Bristol’s sports racing coupes were fast thanks to unusual aerodynamics.
Steel and aluminum frame
The basis of the Fighter is an unusual frame consisting of deep steel box-section sills and steel cross members with an aluminum honeycomb floor and aluminum bulkheads. The fixed body panels are hand-crafted aluminum, and the detachable ones are carbon fiber composites.
It is not a very large car, being about the same size as the Dodge Viper SRT-10 or the Maserati GranSport.
Gull-wing doors
Owing to the deep sills, it was decided that normal doors would not provide adequate access, so true gull wing doors, as used by Mercedes-Benz years ago were the answer. They certainly give the car extra individuality and improve access a lot.
The engine is mounted well back to put plenty of weight over the back wheels. It comes as standard with a six-speed manual box, but a four-speed automatic is available. Because the big engine is mounted well back, weight distribution is 48% front:52% rear, which helps give good traction and handling.
Classic exotic car suspension
Suspension is by double wishbones with coil spring/damper units and anti-roll bars. The front links are designed to prevent dive under braking, the rear links prevent squat under the formidable acceleration. You need good brakes on such a car, an the AP Racing units consist of 6-pot front and 4-pot rear calipers acting on 13.5 in (343 mm) diameter discs.
There is the usual rack and pinion steering, giving fairly direct steering, but unusually, true Ackerman steering geometry is adopted. This was developed to prevent horse-drawn carriages making a mess of the gravel outside the houses of the rich. It was abandoned by most designers of fast cars following the discovery many years ago that it tended to increase understeer on tighter bends.
Adequate adhesion is provided by 285/40-18 front and rear tires on 10-inch rims. Unlike most makers of exotic cars, Bristol believes you should have a spare wheel – so a full size one is provided. There is also a large fuel tank for long-distance cruising.
Although there is no ABS, an unusual traction control is provided. It can be set by the owner to the amount of slip he or she wants to live with.
The Bristol Fighter – or the lustier Bristol Fighter S – is a very high-speed grand tourer with smooth yet unusual lines, a very smart tail, and those amazing gull-wing doors. Of course, with a price of over $400,000 this is an exotic car for the few. Worth adding to your collection.
