Fighter T

[AlanD]

Hello everyone

First post on this forum.

Has any magazine published a road test of the Fighter T? Or, has anyone on the forum driven one, and if so what was your imprestion?

Regards


AlanD
Sydney

[lansdownplace]

I have driven a prototype Fighter, very easy to drive, buckets of torque and tremendous fun. On the downside as it was a prototype the fit and finish wasn't fully resolved and it tram lined a bit. The niche it occupies is very small with intense competition and new versions of model specials in runs of five or ten are common, look at the Zonda. I am not sure there are any two Foghters the same.

It is a shame the Fighter GT didn't get released before Christmas, that might have changed things. It is a mean machine indeed.

Paul

[Markus Berzborn]

What is a Fighter GT?

Regards,
Markus

[lansdownplace]

Originally Posted by Markus Berzborn

What is a Fighter GT?

Regards,
Markus

It is a standard fighter which is lowered with much wider track, flared arches, side skirts, louvered bonnet and front wings and fancy spoilers. Plus an 8.4 engine. It was to have been ready quite soon so we will need to watch what happens.

[Markus Berzborn]

Doesn't sound good.
Who needs flared arches, side skirts and useless spoilers after getting out of puberty.

Regards,
Markus

[Ronald G. Stephenson]

I have to agree with what was said above. I don't consider a Bristol a muscle car or an exotic car by any stretch of the imagination. There are people out there that hot-rod most anything, and it is not uncommon to put twin turbos or superchargers, and even monstrous engines in just about anything. Can we just leave that stuff to that group? I think any new efforts to change the Bristol, including these latest concoctions is the makings of a disaster for the company. If the new owners don't see that, then I don't think there is any hope for the future. Bristols will go the way of dozens of other makes.

[TBC]

Originally Posted by Ronald G. Stephenson

I think any new efforts to change the Bristol, including these latest concoctions is the makings of a disaster for the company. If the new owners don't see that, then I don't think there is any hope for the future. Bristols will go the way of dozens of other makes.

That is exactly what had happened to Bristol until Toby stepped in; BCL were making no cars, one or two cars a year can hardly be classed as 'production', their only income coming from servicing and restoration.

The world has moved on from what BCL traditionally built, name one small scale manufacturer that makes a full 4-seater 2-door saloon/coupe? (Ferrari made over 6,000 cars last year, Maserati made over 5,500 and Bentley made over 4,000 so they're not eligible).

The fact is, if you want to sell cars you have to make a product that people want to buy; which today means it has to look as fast as it goes and produces 700bhp+, anything less and it's a non-starter; just look at what is on offer from the competition and that will tell you what it takes to succeed (Lamborghini Aventador, Pagani Huayra, Koenigsegg Agera, Ferrari 599 replacement, etc).

The alternative may be to make a very fast electric supercar.....

[Markus Berzborn]

These kind of fast and flashy supercars have existed for a long time, there was the Countach in the seventies and so on.
Bristol has never been in this market and hopefully will never be.
If it is not possible to keep up the marque character of Bristol - and Bristols have always had lots of individual character - than it's better to let the marque die. Why should it be saved just for the name's sake? For 25 employees?

Regards,
Markus

Originally Posted by TBC

(Lamborghini Aventador, Pagani Huayra, Koenigsegg Agera, Ferrari 599 replacement, etc).

[GREG]

Yes - for 25 emplyees and for the service and parts.

A lot of people squirmed at the thought of Chrysler V8's and some still do !

Looking forward to the next incarnation of Bristol, whatever shape it takes, and will judge them afterwards.

[Ronald G. Stephenson]

Really too bad that the company failed in their efforts to go into the super-car market. What few resources that were available were gobbled up to enter a market already dominated by so many exotic makes. A street and road car with 700 horsepower is absurd,and are best left to sports stars and celebrities. Isn't it interesting that Morgan can still make what their customers want? There are specialists on every continent that can make anything you can imagine, and at a price substantially below what some of these outfits charge for their offerings. People seeking something truly unique will eschew the 'me too' expensive offerings. Taste does not have to carry a high price tag. Intelligent people are not sheep.......There, I said it!

[Markus Berzborn]

I think the Fighter is fantastic.
As to me, it's the most interesting and fascinating supercar available on the market by a wide margin and the only really practical one.
And it's absolutely unique, comparable to nothing else.
I can't afford it, but if I could, I would buy one immediately.

For my taste it's also the most beautiful one, pure and uncluttered technical no-nonsense lines, no "design gimmicks" at all, nothing ostentatious, nothing to impress by-passers. Other cars in these league look ridicuously posh to me.

Regards,
Markus

[Ronald G. Stephenson]

The super-duper dream cars are plastered on the walls of 14-year-olds' bedrooms, and as to them ever achieving the means to have such a car are quite remote. We leave the outrageous to the celebrity-sports stars to show off their wealth, not their taste. In my own case, I have had the good fortune to own a few rather rare and exotic marques and can tell you first hand that most are not what they are cracked up to be. After a few miles behind the wheel, the burning question becomes; 'is that all there is?' The car gets parked until a new victim can come along and buy it, and find out for themselves what the car is not. There are thousands of Chevrolet Corvettes that sit in garages everywhere whose owners finally acquired their 'dream machine', only to be disappointed with the overall driving experience, the discomfort and the expense of owning a full-size toy. There is a Ferrari parked a few miles from my home, and it was offered to me for literally pennies on the dollar. The owner has not driven it in at least ten years. The car is beautiful, but I would suggest that he sell tickets to raffle the car off. I am certain a great many others have been offered the car.

[Markus Berzborn]

I wouldn't agree there.
For example, I think old Ferraris are far from perfect, but really a lot of fun to drive (my personal experience is limited to the Daytona and the early 365 GT4).
Just not practical for everyday life.

Regards,
Markus

[Ronald G. Stephenson]

Yes, I think they are an adventure on wheels. My friend had a 250 California convertible (redundant), and I had the pleasure of adjusting the valves. His parents bought it for him, and he drove it every day. Now, that was a lovely car. My dream car in that decade was the 250Gt Berlinetta short wheelbase, and at a paltry $14,000, it may as well have been a million dollars. Years later, I settled for an E-Type that I could afford. Then on to Aston-Martins, a true disaster. So it goes.........

[Markus Berzborn]

Well, the 250 SWB IS in fact a million dollars nowadays. Or even more.

Regards,
Markus

[Ronald G. Stephenson]

Yes, and that proves that there are more people out there with more money than brains. At 14K, that was a reach, even back then......I watched these cars being raced, and bashed about. Ah, those were the days!

[Kevin H]

The Fighter did one thing for Bristol, it took brand awareness to people who didn't even know Bristol existed, courtesy of magazine articles and numerous petrolhead internet forums. Unfortunately probably 99.9% of those new Bristol followers couldn't afford to buy one.

Nevertheless the Fighter delivered marketing value when no one was really interested in the latest incarnation of the Blenheim. It proved Bristol was still alive.

What Bristol also needed, IMHO, was another new car that was more affordable, that would appeal to a wider audience than the Fighter.

As for marketing the Fighter, they should have let Top Gear test a Fighter T. Almost every other supercar I can think of was on the show, which is watched by tens of millions of people around the world. That's hard to beat for exposure.

[TBC]

Originally Posted by Markus Berzborn

If it is not possible to keep up the marque character of Bristol - and Bristols have always had lots of individual character - than it's better to let the marque die. Why should it be saved just for the name's sake? For 25 employees?

I have always wondered as to exactly what the Bristol 'marque character' is?

The majority of owners drive cars made more than 30 years ago, and the people buying the cars in the 50's aren't the same as those buying the Fighter today. I would be surprised if, since 1975, BCL made more than a total of 150 cars, Fighter excluded, so who was buying these cars? Liam Gallagher?

And should BCL still be making cars with an ancient straight 6? I know that some think so; and making cars that went out of fashion the moment that 70's straight edge design did?

Obviously some owners don't believe in evolution.....

[Markus Berzborn]

In one word: understatement

Wearing your fur to the inside not to the outside, so to speak.
In other words, the exact opposite to what you proposed.

Just compare the various Bristol models from the beginning of the company on to their respective contemporaries and you get the answer to your question.
It is certainly not a matter of angular or rounded design or of six cylinder, eight cylinder or whatever engines.

That said, the Fighter suits the marque ethos just perfectly.

Regards,
Markus

Originally Posted by TBC

I have always wondered as to exactly what the Bristol 'marque character' is?

[browning l]

Originally Posted by TBC

I have always wondered as to exactly what the Bristol 'marque character' is?

Obviously some owners don't believe in evolution.....

Apparently, a lot of people wonder, more don't care, but some are comfortable.

So far as evolution in external car design in concerned, I was worn out on the wedge shape about 15 minutes after it appeared. It was asdated as fin fenders. But, then, who am I?

Just a car buyer, who was more attracted to a 411 or a 603 than nearly any car on the market today.

Of course, I'm an old man, so that explains it.