Bristol Cars is bringing its wild V10-powered Fighter back to life, marking the first major step in the British marque’s long-awaited return to the automotive world.
Fifteen years after production ended, Bristol is set to complete the final chapter of the Fighter story by building five additional examples of its dramatic gullwing-door grand tourer. The revival comes exactly 80 years after Bristol introduced its first production car, the Bristol 400.
For enthusiasts of low-volume British performance cars, the announcement is more than a nostalgic exercise. The return of the Fighter is intended to establish a bridge between Bristol’s unconventional past and an ambitious new future that could eventually include completely new models.
The Bristol Fighter Is Coming Back
The Bristol Fighter originally arrived in 2004 as one of the most unusual high-performance GTs of its era. Instead of following the increasingly common supercar formula, Bristol created a long-distance luxury car with a huge naturally aspirated V10, understated styling and distinctive gullwing doors.
Under the hood sat an 8.0-liter V10 sourced from the Dodge Viper, giving the Fighter the kind of mechanical hardware normally associated with an American supercar rather than a hand-built British grand tourer.
In its most powerful specification, the Bristol Fighter developed as much as 600 horsepower and was capable of reaching approximately 210 mph.
Production remained extremely limited, however. Bristol continued building the Fighter in small numbers until 2011, when the company entered administration. Only around 13 examples are believed to have been registered, making the Fighter one of the rarest modern British performance cars.
Now, Bristol Cars intends to add five more.
Five More V10 Fighters Will Be Built
The revived Bristol Fighter will not be a conventional continuation model. Bristol says it has located five unfinished chassis from the original production run, with the company now working alongside an unnamed UK manufacturer to complete them to the original specification.
One of the five cars has already been completed, while the remaining four will be built for customers according to their individual requirements.
Both left-hand-drive and right-hand-drive versions will be offered, allowing the final Fighters to be delivered to markets beyond the UK.
Rather unusually, the cars will be registered through the UK’s Individual Vehicle Approval process and will carry period-correct 2008 numberplates. Bristol says this reflects the year in which the cars were technically built rather than presenting them as newly engineered continuation models.
That distinction makes the project particularly intriguing.
Rather than redesigning the Fighter or modernizing its mechanical package, Bristol is effectively finishing a piece of unfinished automotive history.
A 600-HP V10 in an Era of Electrification
The Fighter’s return is particularly remarkable because of what lies beneath its bonnet.
While modern performance cars increasingly rely on turbocharging, hybridization and electrification, the Bristol remains defined by its enormous 8.0-liter naturally aspirated V10.
Borrowed from the Dodge Viper, the engine gave the original Fighter an extraordinary combination of displacement and character. In its most powerful form, it produced around 600 horsepower, helping propel the car to a claimed top speed of 210 mph.
That combination is almost impossible to imagine being created from scratch today.
The Fighter was never intended to be a mass-market sports car. Instead, Bristol positioned it as an exclusive grand tourer for buyers who valued individuality, engineering and craftsmanship over conventional automotive fashion.
That philosophy is central to the company’s revival.
The First New-Era Bristol Fighter
The first completed Fighter from the new production run will make its public debut at Salon Privé.
Finished in black with a tan interior, the car is intended to showcase what customers can expect from the final four examples.
Those remaining cars will be highly personalized, with Bristol allowing owners to specify their preferred finishes and interior configurations.
Pricing has not yet been announced. However, prospective buyers should not expect the revived Fighter to come anywhere close to its original price.
When the Bristol Fighter was new, its list price was approximately £235,000. Given the car’s rarity, the unfinished original chassis, the bespoke nature of the new builds and the extraordinary collector interest surrounding the revival, the final examples are expected to command a substantially higher figure.
Bristol Cars Begins a New Chapter
Although the Fighter is the headline act, Bristol Cars insists that the project is about much more than bringing an old model back into production.
The company describes the completion of the five remaining Fighter chassis as the first chapter of its return rather than the final destination.
Completing the original production programme gives Bristol a tangible connection to its previous identity while allowing the newly revived company to establish itself before moving toward future products.
Exactly what those future cars will look like remains unknown.
Bristol has not yet revealed a detailed product strategy, but further vehicles are understood to be under consideration. Importantly, the company could eventually introduce entirely new models rather than simply reviving historic Bristol nameplates.
That could make the Fighter more than a collector’s curiosity. It could become the foundation stone of a completely new Bristol Cars.
Bristol Promises to Remain Different
Bristol’s new leadership appears determined not to transform the company into another conventional luxury-car manufacturer.
New owner and director Paul King is overseeing the revival alongside chairman Richard Hackett, who has deep ties to Bristol’s history and customer base.
Hackett previously worked with former Bristol boss Tony Crook and also co-ran one of the world’s leading Bristol dealerships for approximately a decade.
His involvement is significant because Bristol has always occupied an unusual position within the British automotive industry.
The company never pursued mass production. Instead, it built exceptionally small numbers of distinctive cars for customers who wanted something that could not easily be compared with mainstream luxury vehicles.
Hackett says that philosophy will remain fundamental to the revived company.
“Bristol was never a mass-market manufacturer,” he said, emphasizing that the marque built exceptional cars in small numbers for customers who valued individuality, engineering and character.
The goal now is to preserve those qualities while giving Bristol a sustainable future.
What Comes After the Fighter?
The biggest question surrounding Bristol Cars is what happens once the five Fighters are finished.
For now, the company is keeping its cards close to its chest. There are no confirmed details regarding a successor, a new sports car, a luxury GT or another model line.
However, Bristol has made it clear that the Fighter project represents only the beginning.
The company’s stated ambition is to remain faithful to the “individuality, engineering integrity and craftsmanship” that historically defined Bristol while developing products capable of carrying the brand into a new era.
That could prove difficult in an automotive industry dominated by global manufacturers, increasingly complex emissions regulations and rapidly accelerating electrification.
But Bristol has never really followed the conventional path.
The Bristol Fighter Revival Could Be Exactly What the Brand Needs
The decision to complete five original Fighter chassis rather than immediately launch an all-new car is strategically clever.
It gives the revived Bristol Cars an opportunity to reconnect with existing enthusiasts and collectors while demonstrating that the company is serious about its heritage.
More importantly, it creates a physical link between the old Bristol and whatever comes next.
The Fighter was always an eccentric car. It combined an enormous American V10 with British craftsmanship, a luxury GT body and gullwing doors, creating something that could never have come from an ordinary automaker.
Now, 15 years after Bristol effectively disappeared from the new-car market, that eccentricity is returning.
The final five Bristol Fighters will be exceptionally rare from the moment they leave the factory, and their combination of an 8.0-liter V10, up to 600 horsepower, gullwing doors and approximately 210-mph performance makes them highly unusual even by modern supercar standards.
But their greatest significance may ultimately have little to do with performance.
The revived Fighter represents Bristol Cars finishing unfinished business.
And if the company’s plans succeed, it could also represent the beginning of something much bigger.
After 15 years in the wilderness, Bristol Cars is finally preparing to return—and it is doing so with a 600-hp V10 grand tourer that looks like almost nothing else on the road.
Source: Bristol Cars