British company Bristol Cars will return to the road in 2026, in time to celebrate its 80th anniversary.
That’s according to Chairman and CEO Jason Wharton, who bought the company’s assets at auction in 2020 following the Bristol company’s liquidation. This isn’t the first time either, as the controversial carmaker also went into administration in 2011. In 2016, its new owners unveiled the Bullet sports car, but it never went into production.
The company was founded in 1945 as a division of Bristol Aircraft, and produced its first car, the 400, a year later based on the pre-war BMW 326, 327 and 328. In the 1950s, Bristol really made its car. It has its own identity, with big, quirky coupes that combine luxury and speed, thanks to Chrysler V-8 engines.
Judging from the photo shared by the Wharton Bristol revival, it appears it will be driven by a modernized version of the 1969 411, which came equipped with a 6.2-liter Chrysler eight. When Wharton first bought Bristol, he had big plans to make it a leading electric car company, although he now appears to have backed away from that ambition.
In response to comments on his LinkedIn post showing off the “new” car, Wharton said the combustion-powered version would come first, followed by a hybrid version and then a pure electric version.
Wharton describes his plan for the future as “Vision 8.0” and says the goal is “to revive Bristol Cars as a contemporary car manufacturer for luxury touring car connoisseurs and experiences worldwide in time for the brands’ 80th anniversary in 2026.”
The word “coach maker” is key, suggesting that rather than engineering a vehicle from scratch, Bristol will restructure a vehicle from another manufacturer. We’ll find out soon enough.
