Bristol Cars is to be reborn again – and will focus on electric vehicles in the coming years.
The beleaguered Bristol brand was wound up in 2011 after going into administration, then in 2020 it went into liquidation. It has now been rescued by London property developer Jason Wharton.
This is not the first time Wharton has attempted to revive a former British car manufacturer. Between August 2011 and February 2015, he was an executive director of Allard Sports Cars.
Under Wharton, Bristol plans to re-engineer its back catalogue – it will build eight examples of the 411 Series 8, Fighter and Speedster respectively, with deliveries by 2023. All will be powered by a new 6.4-litre naturally aspirated Hemi Chrysler V8. The company says the suspension, electrical architecture and interiors will be ‘newly updated’.
The Fighter was originally launched in 2004. Just nine examples were sold originally, one of which was bought by Wharton, who appears to be an enthusiast of the brand. In 2018, he asked on Twitter when the Bristol Bullet would be available to buy. Then a year later, he asked if the vehicle had received homologation. It never went on sale.
After the company re-engineers its old models, Bristol says it will then concentrate on making electric vehicles, the first of which will be called Buccaneer. Production of this EV is slated for 2025 and Wharton intends to relocate manufacturing facilities to the Filton area of Bristol, where the original firm was based.
No further details have been released about the new model beyond its name, and that it will be powered by electricity.
The company is currently without a chief executive, head of engineering and non-executive directors. Bristol said it plans to appoint people to these positions in 2022, alongside a ‘significant capital raise’.
“I see myself as a long-term investor in this iconic British brand,” said Wharton. “Part of my role is to take it forward and develop it so it can finally become sustainable as a premium automotive business – hence our need to move with the times and introduce a fully battery electric model.”
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