1976 Bristol 412. Aug 07

It matters little to a gentleman that his suit of clothes may not be the latest fashion, that his catch is not judged on size, nor if his car is not the highest tech gadget in town.
Exclusivity might be the single word I am looking for. Then again, exclusivity can be had without quality. However, we are talking about a Bristol 412 here, so let's leave it at the fact that this car is unique and will be owned and appreciated by only a select few.
To put comparisons in perspective, this is a car that, in its day, was compared (favorably) with a Rolls Royce Camargue, a Ferrari 400 and an Aston Martin Lagonda. We should also note that they were all similarly priced at the upper end of the prestige market.
We wrote about the history of the Bristol company a few years back (in a review of a 400), but in a nutshell it is a company that grew out of the aircraft industry into a bespoke car manufacturer. The good news, incidentally, is that they still exist in their small factory just outside Bristol in the UK.
The 412s were the first convertible built in volume by Bristol. The Zagato design was not to everyone's taste when launched in 1975, and in truth it is not a design that has appreciated with the passage of time. What the design does offer, however, is a bewildering range of targa/hardtop/softop combinations.
At one extreme, the owner can fit the hardtop and have a saloon. At the other he can remove the targa, fold back the softop and have the joy of open-air motoring. All this without too much concern about body flex and torsional stiffness because under the aluminium bodywork sits a separate box frame chassis. Yes, just like great granddad's Bentley of the 1920s. The engineers at Bristol also eschewed independent rear suspension in favour of a live axle, albeit a nicely developed one that worked as well as most independent variants available at the time.
Bristol's logic was that a well engineered live system could equal or outperform independent systems with their inherent problems of camber and bump steer. A test drive will prove their point is well made.
Despite a relatively narrow girth, the 412 is a spacious vehicle. It will comfortably take four large adults and their luggage (and has, for instance, more interior and boot space than the Camargue). One reason is the Bristol tradition of housing the spare wheel in the nearside front wing and the battery and other ancillaries in the offside wing.
Performance is excellent thanks to the 6.6 litre V8 motor and Chrysler Torqueflite 3 speed auto transmission. The over engineered Girling discs at front and rear feel ultra safe, and the ZF-designed steering is lightish, but spot on.
Your first drive of a 412 will confirm what prestige, classic motoring is all about. The car feels as solid as a rock and the V8 purrs along smoothly, but can still growl when required! So you have the best of two worlds, really -the solid quality of a car built in Crewe with the handling and performance of one from Modena.
One interesting aspect of Bristol ownership is that the factory encourages owners to bring their car back for updates and improvements, so that few Bristols are the same today as when they first exited the factory gates. Our test car has had one or two changes (done locally), including bigger wheels to fill out the rather underfilled wheel arches with the original 6 x 15" alloys.
It's also had a complete refurbishment, including new paint and trim, so it looks nicely set for another 30 or so years of prestige motoring. Certainly, the burgundy/black exterior and red interior are well chosen, and a distinct improvement over the yellow paint job that first adorned the car.
Another of the benefits of Bristol ownership is that maintenance costs are not likely to be high, given the availability of parts for the Chrysler mechanicals.
Given their rarity, both worldwide and in Australia in particular, the owner of a Bristol will certainly be able to lay claim to membership of a very exclusive and desirable club. From what I understand, this one is available for just the cost of a new Saville Row suit and a week's fishing in Scotland.
Trevor West

WHAT, WHERE, WHEN & HOW MUCH
Model:Bristol 412
Year:1976
Dealer: Classic Car Garage
4 Austin Street,
Newstead, QLD, 4006
Ph: (07) 3252 4045

Price:$65,000
0-100 kph:7.5 seconds
Best point:Exclusive quality
Worst point:Styling is an issue for some
Recommendation:An investment for those who want the very best of Olde World English motoring
Trivia:The most respected motoring journalist ever, LJK Setright, called the Bristol 412 "The Best Car in the World" in an article he wrote in 1975. That comparative assessment included Rolls Royce and Mercedes, so you can take it that the 412 is a very good motorcar indeed