The Bristol Fighter is a sports car produced by Bristol Cars in small numbers from 2004 until the company suspended manufacturing in 2011. It is generally classed as a supercar.

The coupé body, which features gullwing doors, was designed by former Brabham Formula One engineer Max Boxstrom and gives the car a Cd of 0.28.

Design The car uses a front-mid-mounted V10 engine, a modified version of the engine in the Dodge Viper and the Dodge Ram SRT-10 pick up (it was originally based on the Chrysler LA engine), but modified by Bristol to produce at 5,600 rpm and of torque at 4,200 rpm. This is in keeping with Bristol's use of Chrysler engines since 1961. In the more powerful Fighter S, the engine is tuned to produce (660 hp at high speed, using the ram air effect). The car's weight is .

The car has a six-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission, and is rear-wheel drive. It can accelerate from in 4.0 seconds (claimed), and has a power-to-weight ratio of . The car has a claimed top speed of and the driver can be tall at maximum.

Although sketches and models had been publicized some time before, a complete car was first shown to the press in May 2003. The first drive by a car magazine appears to be that in the April 2005 issue of Evo magazine.

It is not known exactly how many Bristol Fighters were manufactured, but research indicates that 20 chassis were produced. Of these 18 series 1 chassis have been accounted for and one series 2 chassis exists. At the time of Bristol Cars collapse, three series 1 chassis were in various states of completion and two series 1 chassis and the sole series 2 chassis were untouched. One of these cars went on to be completed and delivered in 2015. This would indicate, although not confirmed, that 14 cars were completed (including the pre-production car). The series 2 chassis is believed to have been intended for the Fighter T model. The remaining five existing chassis are slated to be completed in a continuation series announced in September 2026.

Fighter T In 2006, Bristol announced the Fighter T, a turbocharged version of the Fighter. This was planned to have a modified version of the Chrysler V10 producing and of torque at 4,500 rpm. This also would have made it the first turbocharged, petrol-powered V10 production car. The Fighter T was designed to have an improved drag coefficient of 0.27. Bristol claimed that the car would be capable of more than ; however it would have been electronically limited to a "more than adequate" . In the end, no Bristol Fighter T's were ever produced.

Specifications

ModelEngineDisplacementMax powerMax torqueAcceleration (s)Top speedFighterV10 at 5,500 rpm at 4,200 rpm 4.0 Fighter SV10 at 5,900 rpm at 3,900 rpm 4.0 Fighter TV10 turbo at 5,600 rpm at 4,500 rpm 3.5 limited

References

External links Bristol Cars: Fighter Bristol Owners Club, Bristol Fighter Autocar review Top Gear: Bristol Fighter T preview