The Design & Development of the Bristol Fighter. A lecture by Toby Silverton.

A description of the ideas and reasoning leading up to the design and development of the Bristol Fighter. A fascinating insight into the care and methodology that goes into the production of a true Bristol car.
This lecture was given on 1 November 2009 at the Gaydon Heritage Motor Centre Museum by Toby Silverton, Chairman Bristol Cars.
Note that this talk was given over 10 years ago and much has happened since it was given including the demise of Bristol Cars. So some of the comments made may no longer be correct or relevant.
The views, information, and opinions expressed during these recordings are those of the individuals involved.
© Bristol Owners Heritage Trust 2020

[@nickrichardson7451]

This is a video that all designers of any car would benefit from watching and learning from. In some ways the Bristol approach can be found in the original Classic Saab 900 & certainly the Fighter windscreen is very similar to that of the Saab. Practical robust cars sadly only appeal to thoughtful people and there’s too few to generate significant sales. Hence both Saab & Bristol ran into difficulties.

[@hotf00t13]

100% agree with this

[@brianwilson245]

I'm a little late coming to this, but after listening to two hours of Toby, I can understand why the company failed.

[@mrbennetts]

Fascinating talk by Mr Silverton. What a terrible shame the Fighter didn’t reach its potential. The lack of sales probably says more about the purchasers of supercars, who prefer style and ostentation over clever packaging. Other people in this excellent series of videos are not so full of praise for the Fighter project as is Mr Silverton. Thank you for uploading the video.

[@BristolOwnersHeritageTrust]

Glad you like the videos. We hope to have more in the future!

[@alexandermathar7780]

The clients knew it was practically a restyled and rebadged dodge viper. A case of the emperor 's new clothes.

[@JonnyJayJonson]

I remember attending this and bought this recording on DVD through the Owners Club. Really nice group of people. WX56 LXN looked fantastic parked outside, I believe the car now resides somewhere in Gloucestershire and was used in the Carfection video. It's very sad that the Fighter didn't make more of an impact on the market, I don't think its understated approach resonated with the typical 'supercar' buyers who want drama and spectacle. Yes, it had some teething problems but what car doesn't, that's why manufacturers offer warranties and recalls. It was a tricky bugger for the Bristol workforce to build.

[@calthropleeroy]

A fascinating contrast to the comments made about it by people who actually built the car. The interviews with Dave Jenkins and Geoff Marsh were a real eye-opener. I gather it was never satisfactorily watertight due to the gullwing doors.

[@automotiveaffairsshorts]

Very cool to see a detailed explanation of the Fighter. Whatever happened to the rebirth of Bristol we saw a few years ago? Is that lovely Speedster dead?

[@blxtothis]

It might have been a wonderful piece of engineering but viewed from the front it’s as ugly as the 450!

[@stanleymasterson1135]

A long winded diatribe just to wind up building 6 or 7 cars, go bankrupt, and have company director Syd Lovesy call him "despicable"