Registry: 1953 Bristol 401

The Bristol 401 is an unusual car in many ways with low production numbers. Bristol was an airplane manufacturer who entered the car industry after World War 2 by buying the rights to build the pre-war BMWs from Frazer Nash. The 401 is the first major refinement of that prewar design. Bristol licensed the Superleggera body construction techniques from Touring in Italy and produced a full 5 passenger car with a lightweight tubular steel frame with an aluminum body stretched over it. They also wind tunnel tested the design to produce a very aerodynamic body. The end result was the first sub-2 litre car that was capable of going 100 mph. This car came to the United States in 1998 from the UK and is a solid rust and accident free, fairly original driver level car. The interior, except for the carpet is original and it's a numbers matching car with its original BMW derived engine still in place. There have been some creative upgrades from past owners to improve the car's drivability, such as a brake servo, a lamp in the boot and an improved blower system for the heater. There isn't much I need to do to the car aside from basic maintenance and it runs and drives very well.