As you would expect of a car built by an aeroplane maker, there was no room for penny pinching compromise in the design or construction of the Bristol 401. even at a Purchase Tax inflated $3112 in Britain three times the cost of an ‘equivalent’ 1949 Jaguar, it’s unlikely that Bristol’s car division, which split from the parent company in 1961, ever turned in much of a profit. The 401’s alloy body was just one example of the high minded extravagance that permeated the design of the car. The alloy panels, wrapped around small diameter tubes, were graded in thickness according to function heavier on the top of the wings, for instance, where mechanics leant during servicing. The engine, a straight six borrowed from BMW after the war as part of reparations, was a gem. It yielded almost 100 mph (160 km/h) from an 85 bhp2 liter engine pulling an opulently trimmed full four seater, which was impressive, but outright speed wasn’t what this car was all about. Fine handling especially in the days before motorways was even more important, and the 401 was well blessed with poised good manners that gained marque many enthusiastic lifelong friends.
The memorable ‘Aerodyne’ body, shaped on the firm’s own runway at Filton, near Bristol, was as slippery as the name suggests. In tests carried out 20 years after the 401’s demise. Only four modern cars were found to be more aerodynamics. The 401 became the 403, with a bit more power and better brakes, in 1953, and the company built its last six cylinder car, the 406 in 1961, losing the battle with increasing weight.
