Bristol 404 Coupe

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Bristol Cars Limited is a manufacturer of hand-built luxury cars headquartered in Kensington, London, United Kingdom. Company origin is from the British aircraft industry, which suffered a dramatic loss of orders and great financial difficulties following the Armistice of 1918. To provide immediate employment for its considerable workforce, the Bristol Aeroplane Company undertook the manufacture of a light car (the Bristol Monocar), the construction of car bodies for company Armstrong Siddeley and bus bodies for their sister company, Bristol Tramways. On the outbreak of the Second World War, Sir George Stanley Middleton White (1913-1983), managing director of the Bristol Aeroplane Company from 1911–1954, was determined not to suffer the same difficulties a second time. The company now employed 70,000 people and he knew he must plan for the time when the voracious wartime demand for Bristol aircrafts and aircraft engines would suddenly end. The company began working with AFN Ltd, makers of Frazer Nash cars and British importer of BMWs before the war, on plans for a joint venture in automotive manufacture. As early as 1941, a number of papers were written or commissioned by George S. M. White, Sir Stanley’s son, proposing a post-war car manufacturing division. It was decided to purchase an existing manufacturer for this purpose. Alvis, Aston Martin, Lagonda, ERA and Lea Francis were considered. A chance discussion took place in May 1945, between D. A. Aldington, a director of Frazer Nash then serving as an inspector for the wartime Ministry of Aircraft Production (MAP), and Eric Storey, an assistant of George White at the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It led to the immediate take-over of Frazer Nash by the Aeroplane Company. Aldington and his two brothers had marketed the “Fraser Nash B.M.W.” before the war, and proposed to build an updated version after demobilisation. This seemed the perfect match for the Aeroplane Company’s own ambitions to manufacture a high quality sports car. With the support of the War Reparations Board, H. J. Aldington travelled to Munich and purchased the rights to manufacture three BMW models and the 328 engine. By July 1945, BAC had created a Car Division and bought a controlling stake in AFN. A factory was established at Filton Aerodrome, near Bristol. Bristol Cars was sold after its parent joined with other British aircraft companies in 1960 to create the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC), which later became part of British Aerospace. The car division originally merged with Bristol Siddeley Engines Ltd, was marked for closure, but was bought in September 1960 by George S.M. White the chairman and effective founder. White retained the direction of the company, but sold a forty per cent shareholding to Tony Crook, a leading Bristol agent. Crook became sole distributor. Crook finally relinquished his connection with Bristol Cars in August 2007. In March 2011, it was announced that Bristol Cars had been placed into administration. Rescue came in April 2011, in the form of Frazer-Nash Research. On 3 March 2011, it was announced that Bristol Cars had gone into administration, with the immediate loss of 22 jobs. On 21 April 2011, the company was purchased by Kamkorp, which also owns the Frazer-Nash Group of Companies.