The Arnolt - Bristol was an interesting dental amalgam of contemporary Bristol chassis engineering and Bertone styling and body construction . The 96 - column inch - wheelbase flesh was fundamentally the 404 platform , a stalwart box - plane section affaire with transverse front leaf springiness and a carefully located live rearward axle .
However , the Arnolt - Bristol pack more power than the 404 , carry a tuned version of Bristol ’s Type BS1 sports - racing railway locomotive , a six - cylinder unit that hark back to the prewar BMW 328 . yield was 130 HP ( Bristol touring - car engine were ordinarily stag at 105 bhp in this period ) . Gearbox and brakes come from Bristol ’s earlier 403 coupe - sedan . To apply the modernistic vernacular , the Arnolt - Bristol was a veridical “ parts bin ” job .
Bristol sent rolled chassis to Bertone , which topped Arnolt - Bristols with either undefended two - seater or closely interrelate fastback coupe bodies . discharge cars were then shipped to Chicago . The fastback would prove very rare ( it is thought that only two were built ) . The open version was offered in two forms .
The stark $ 3994 Bolide , with sheer - down windscreen and no mild top , was essentially a ready - made “ club racer . ” An extra $ 750 bought a Deluxe model with more complete trim . The Arnolt - Bristol coupe , though still little in spite of appearance , noisy , and somewhat uncomfortable to drive , had full weather protection and wind - down windowpane . The styling , all swoop curves with a rather pinched nose and oral cavity , was typical of Bertone in the Fifties .
Because Arnolt - Bristols were make mostly by handwriting in limited quantities ( only 142 over seven years ) , specification varied . Early examples had schematic steel disc wheels , but later cars were furnish with center - lock discs , presumably for faster change at cavity halt .
Though demand was never gamey , the Arnolt - Bristol was a outstandingly long - survive speciality sportswoman cable car . unaccented weight and sizable power gave it good acceleration , and this couple with first-class balance and fine manners made it a racing instinctive . Its first competition profits came in the 2.0 - cubic decimetre class at the 1955 Sebring 12 Hours ( repeat the undermentioned class ) , and Arnolt - Bristols were still advance backwash – or at least their class – well into the sixties .
By that meter , though , routine bod supplying had ceased ( Bristol was about to stop building its distinctive BMW - ground six anyway ) and even Wacky was gone ( he died in 1960 ) . With little impulsion to train a heir poser , the brand name disappeared , but not before a final Arnolt - Bristol was built from leftover parts and deliver in 1964 .
Though 12 motorcar were fall behind to a warehouse blast , a high symmetry of the remain 130 Arnolt - Bristols survive today . Among them are two interesting “ few - of - a - sort ” variations : an aluminum - bodied semi - racer , of which five were originally built , and another four roadster outfit with 283 - three-dimensional - inch Corvette V-8s .
Elusive , expensive , and vastly desirable , the Arnolt - Bristol remains a footnote in the pageboy of automotive story , but a memorable one . Like Chicago , it had a flock of class that was rarely appreciated .
