1955 Bristol 450

This was amongst the cars displayed in the paddock at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1998.

It's the sole surviving example of the three Bristol 450S cars that were built primarily to contest the Le Mans 24 Hour race, in which they competed with three different body styles in 1953, 1954 and 1955. The cars ran in the under 2 litre class and were powered by the 1,971cc straight-6 Bristol engine derived from the pre-war BMW 328 unit. The 1953 car had a coupé body with an unusual looking nose which had two headlamps, two spotlights, and a series of air intakes including a strange series of slats in the bodywork where the grille of the car would normally be. The rear of the car was swept back with a fin on either side of the rear window. Two cars were entered for the 1953 Le Mans race but both retired before the race was half way through. For the 1954 race the body was altered, retaining the rear end of the 1953 car, but having the new nose as seen on the 1955 car in the above photograph. Three cars were entered at Le Mans and they finished seventh, eighth and ninth in the overall positions, and first, second and third in the 2 litre class. In 1955 the cars were given the open body as seen above, and again finished seventh, eighth and ninth overall, and in the first three places in the 2 litre class. After that race Bristol withdrew from racing, in part because of the terrible accident there, and the best parts of the three cars were used to build one car, the rest being scrapped. The owner of Bristol Cars, Tony Crook, kept the car until 1992 when he sold it to Simon Draper who took it along to several historic race meetings to sit alongside the cars of other members of the Bristol Owners' Club, but the only time I saw it actually compete was at the Coys meeting at Silverstone in 1993 where it was driven by Stephen Archer.

1955 Bristol 450S

This car competed in the Champagne Charles Heidsieck Sports Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1993, and I photographed it early in the day in a very overcast and rain-soaked paddock.

It's the sole surviving example of the three Bristol 450S cars that were built primarily to contest the Le Mans 24 Hour race, in which they competed with three different body styles in 1953, 1954 and 1955. The cars ran in the under 2 litre class and were powered by the 1,971cc straight-6 Bristol engine derived from the pre-war BMW 328 unit. The 1953 car had a coupé body with an unusual looking nose which had two headlamps, two spotlights, and a series of air intakes including a strange series of slats in the bodywork where the grille of the car would normally be. The rear of the car was swept back with a fin on either side of the rear window. Two cars were entered for the 1953 Le Mans race but both retired before the race was half way through. For the 1954 race the body was altered, retaining the rear end of the 1953 car, but having the new nose as seen on the 1955 car in the above photograph. Three cars were entered at Le Mans and they finished seventh, eighth and ninth in the overall positions, and first, second and third in the 2 litre class. In 1955 the cars were given the open body as seen above, and again finished seventh, eighth and ninth overall, and in the first three places in the 2 litre class. After that race Bristol withdrew from racing, in part because of the terrible accident there, and the best parts of the three cars were used to build one car, the rest being scrapped. The owner of Bristol Cars, Tony Crook, kept the car until 1992 when he sold it to Simon Draper who entered it for this race at Silverstone, where it was driven by Stephen Archer. It has been taken along to several historic race meetings to sit alongside the cars of other members of the Bristol Owners' Club, but as far as I'm aware this meeting at Silverstone in 1993 is the only competitive outing it has had since that 1955 Le Mans 24 Hour race.

Bristol 450S

This car was alongside several other Bristol and Bristol-engined cars at the Bristol Owners' Club's area at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in August 1996.

It's a 1955 Bristol 450S, the last remaining example of the Bristol cars that competed in the Le Mans 24 Hour race in 1953, 1954 and 1955. The original Bristol 450S was constructed around the chassis of the 1952 ERA G-Type and was powered by a straight-6 Bristol 1,971cc engine. Three body styles were used, two different coupe versions in the first two years and the open version as seen above in 1955. Two cars were entered in the 1953 race but neither finished, but in each of the following two years a three-car team finished in 7th, 8th and 9th places overall and in the first three places in the 2-litre class. After the dreadful accident in the 1955 race Bristol withdrew from racing and dismantled all but one of the cars, the one seen above, that was kept by Tony Crook for 30 years before passing to Simon Draper who owned the car when it appeared at this Silverstone meeting.

On 2 October 2013 I showed photographs I took of the car when it competed at the Coys meeting at Silverstone in 1993 where it was driven by Stephen Archer.

Friday's Ferrari

Here's a car that took part in the Champagne Charles Heidsieck Sports Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1993.

It's David Cottingham's 1957 Ferrari 500 TRC, serial number 0682MDTR, originally campaigned by Ecurie Nationale Belge and had the four-cylinder 2 litre Lampredi designed engine. Behind the Ferrari is Willie Tuckett's 1955 Jaguar D-type, and number 32 on the left is Simon Draper's 1955 Bristol 450S.

Bristol 450S

The Bristol 450S was built specially to take part in long distance sports car races, in particular the Le Mans 24 hour race and the 12 hour one at Reims. You can read the history of the cars on this website. Interestingly, David Blakely, builder and driver of the Emperor HRG, was due to join the Bristol team at Le Mans for the 1955 race in June, probably as a reserve driver, but was shot dead by Ruth Ellis in April of that year.

After the 1955 Le Mans race, possibly as a result of the dreadful accident involving Pierre Levegh, Bristol withdrew from racing, the best components of the three cars were used to create one vehicle and the remaining ones were scrapped. That car has occasionally taken part in historic car races and was present at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1993 where I took the photographs below.

Despite what the board behind it says this is the Bristol 450S

Later in the day the weather had improved somewhat and here the car waits in the paddock to go out for a practice session

A rear view showing the distinctive tail fin