Did Chrysler design the 603 !
 

A slight resemblance - although the Mk2 Escort and Morris Marina have similar lines too !

What a great looking Bristol!

If similarity of lines is the reason for your (tongue-in-cheek?) question, I suggest you think about the similarity of lines between most widely-sold makes of cars during different eras.

Even a cursory glance shows there is no doubt that designers, probably to some extent at the urging of management, copy one another's lines. At least, until for some competitive reason, a maker desides to break away with another idea or so.

Yes, I think "Kentucky Red" and this black one are the best looking 603's I have ever seen. I do prefer the Avon's in the powder coated silver finish as well as the wider axle mod that fills the rear arches better and looks just right.

It just shows how colour dependant the 603 and 412's are !

I also think the polished stainless steel trim that was used on the 407 to 411 works well on the black 603 and seems to give it balance.

Best Looker!
 

Probably the best looking 603 I've ever seen. You are right about the wheels and chrome trim enhancing the aesthetic result. When are you selling it?

Not even close
 

I see no resemblance at all in the two. Besides, you don't by a Bristol for styling.

I certainly do buy a Bristol or two for the styling , among their many other attributes.

What would make you buy a Bristol ?

The Bristol Appeal?
 

My first and only consideration was the fact that they chose Chrysler vee-eight power and automatic transmission. That is what caught my eye when I saw my first 409. The Facel Vega had the same idea on engines.
As to styling, well, it is rather bland. One would walk right by a Bristol and not know what it was. My Aston DB6 was thought to be a customized Mustang. The 'experts' that were examining the car decided since it had two petrol fillers that it could not be a Mustang. I told them it was an Aston-Martin and got blank stares in return.

One would walk right by a Bristol and not know what it was. To me, that's no problem. But, if one does walk right by a Bristol, without recognizing what make it is, and is bothered by one's lack of knowledge, all one has to do is read the name on the badge, right?

My Aston DB6 was thought to be a customized Mustang. But, that's the delicious irony of A-M ownership, isn't it? That the ignorant would have no idea what make it is? I would think you would be pleased by this.

Bristols as styling exercises
 

In my youth, it was very pleasant to think one had something so unique that it would draw attention from others. Later on, I found no satisfaction in that idea about car ownership. I have learned to chose my cars for my own satisfaction and have no interest in attempting to impress others. Comments coming from observers just roll right off my back. Of course, a polite thank you is in order for complements, and it is gratifying when they actually know what the are looking at.

It does appear that you have become very wise and knowledgeable over the years compared to the other car owners you acquaint yourself with. It will be interesting to see which model of Bristol you decide to go for in the end and why.

It does seem a bit strange that car people thought an Aston was a modified Mustang, especially after all those Bond films !

When Tony Crook was asked about which was his favourite Bristol, he replied the latest one. I think that this was probably true as the evolution of improvements was constant up until the Fighter. The Fighter obviously started from a blank page. This had the good result of making it possible to upgrade all of the older cars, if the owner wanted, to the constantly improving technology of the latest models.

So I guess that you should buy any Bristol you like the look of and then decide to go with either standard or updated technology that suits your needs and desires.

This is probably why you will very rarely find two identical Bristols of any era.

Bristols and the changes and upgrades
 

I have to agree with Greg that each car is unique unto itself, each one having been ordered to the new owner's specifications. The idea of modernizing the cars with bigger and better brakes and perhaps a newer, smog friendly engine is all fine in my book. In my case, the 409 I finally find will likely need so much, that it will get the upgrades as a matter of course. As to the interior, it will be kept the same as original as it is the 'charm' part of the car. The search goes on, and a couple good, restored examples are there for the taking, but I want to have my hands in the process.

Just too many things
0.- Feeling. Can't describe it, it's a feel, I have never driven one, but I've sat on 2 of them and it happens from minute 1. You sit on a car and before closing the door, I already know if I will or won't ever feel well inside, no matter how many adjustments are available.
1.- Styling. I like them, I love them. Don't ask me why, because I can't explain it. I love the 411 and the Blenheim in all its incarnations.
2.- How they are designed. Thinking about them as driver's cars, to provide enjoyment from the moment you open the door, sit in the supportive armachairs and notice they have been designed to be supportive, comfortable for long journeys, being no low-cost bits trimmed in leather with a small, short and painful squab as in other so-called "premium" manufacturers.
Airiness, interior space, not intrusive windscreen. aircraft-style designed. No-nonsense switches or useless screens or info systems. Just gauges (which I love)
3.- Attention to detail. Twin flaps, spare wheel well, plenty headroom front and rear, cavernous loadspace.
4.- Quality from every inch (that solid door hinges have something to say) and built to last, not as today's cars which are designed for a 9 year-lifespan with programmed obsolescence
5.- Understatement, it's the only car that doesn't shoult "loadsamoney" so in vogue nowadays.

I could list many, many more things. But these are, by far, the most important to me.

I can remind one old sales slogan "maybe there's another faster saloon, but this does not matter: when you travel uncomfortably it's better to get home earlier"

This could be applied to Bristol's concurrence.
Happy weekend to everyone

The charm and uniqueness of the old Bristols
 

Much to be said about the cars beyond their scarcity. They are indeed purpose built to take you long distances in comfort and safety, to not attract attention and to be built to last. My favorite advertisement was the one about driving through stone walls as a boast to the safety of the car. That substantial frame under the car could withstand most anything. People unfamiliar with the home roads do not realize how many 'dead ends' they have to encounter when driving through the countryside. I am sure this happened to enough drivers to account for the wording of the advertisement. In the U.S.A., we used to build cars like this, especially the larger Chrysler and Imperial models of the 1950's. I was in a head-on crash in my Imperial, and the Oldsmobile that turned in front of me was totaled. My bumper bent a little and the left wing was dented but repairable. We are now in an age of lightweight, disposable cars, all in the name of fuel economy and supposed safety with every corner of the interior protected with an air bag. Some would call this progress.