So to the 1960s; Harold MacMillan had recently assured the nation: “You've never had it so good!”, and for those unembarrassed by lack of emolument this was probably true.
Technology was marching on apace, with more new transistorised equipment becoming available along with cheaper machines to help with the domestic chores. Neither had the motor car been forgotten. New levels of performance and comfort were available each year, although not to everyone. The average British male manual worker earned around £630 p.a. A far cry from the £4,848 price tag of the new Bristol 407.
But what of this beast? Wherefore was it a marketable commodity?
Jaguar were going from strength to strength, having just acquired Daimler, and were offering the Mk.X with powerful 3.81 litre engine, power steering, limited slip differential and dual circuit brakes, all for £2,392. Jensen could supply the 541 with a 4-litre straight six, and Rolls-Royce Hydra-Matic transmission for £3,195, while £5,251 would buy the refined luxury of a 4-litre Lagonda Rapide.
The answer lay partially in quality and reputation. Many Bristol purchasers had come back for more, and those returning in the early sixties found an offering which looked virtually identical to the 406, but with far more power. More than that, however, it was transmitted much more smoothly than on contemporary vehicles.
As mentioned elsewhere, new gearboxes had been under consideration to complement the type 160 engine. Bristol Cars had a resident gearbox specialist, Denis Sevier, who had designed a 5-speed manual 'box, but automatic transmission was de rigeur for a conveyance which was becoming ever more ‘executive’, and this was technically a more difficult proposition at that time.
The principle of using an epicyclic gearbox with brake bands to achieve different ratios was well established in England. It was the interface with the engine which needed improvement. The fluid flywheel had been around since the 1930s, known as the Vulcan-Sinclair hydraulic coupling; it had been exploited by Daimler, becoming a standard feature on these and Lanchester cars.
Another option was electro-magnetic control. Bristol Cars had been working in conjunction with Smiths to develop an electro-magnetic clutch. This would then be linked to an epicyclic box, or a semi-automatic pre-selector.
Either way, what project 220 would have offered was tantamount to a manual gearbox which automatically selected one of three or four ratios — a far cry from the smooth and subtle operation of today's automatics.
Being forced to opt for an off the shelf gearbox may then have been a blessing in disguise. The Americans had been devoting much more time and money to the development of automatic cars, the much larger capacity of their engines being better suited to the early two speed systems. The most significant improvement was the use of the torque converter, a development of the fluid flywheel, which is in itself is an automatic transmission with infinite ratios although only over a range of about 2.5 to 1. This was then used to operate between the fixed ratios of the epicyclic 'box, giving smooth operation over a very wide range.
The physics of this system did not lend itself to scaling down to the size of the Bristol engines, yet someone at Filton decided to to obtain one for evaluation. The sample which in fact came from Chrysler in Canada was delivered with a matching engine, and so good was the performance of the combination, that with a few modifications it became the way ahead for the Bristol Car, giving the 407 quite an edge on its luxury competitors, and re-establishing the Bristol in the performance car market. Indeed, it could keep up with a 2+2 Ferrari over the standing half mile!
Considering the amount of change from the previous model, the 407 was remarkably free of faults. The big end bearings shells on some cars gave trouble, and a different type was substituted. The tailshaft bearing in the gearbox got hotter than it should if the car was really thrashed, and under similar circumstances the cooling system struggled to keep up.
It was the latter niggle which prompted the re-styling which gave rise to the 408, the larger grille allowing increased air flow over the radiator.
For the next decade, model changes were to be more subtle, all heralding the arrival of a new feature e.g. heated rear screen, power steering, self-levelling suspension, air conditioning, speed hold.
Externally each new model looked very similar to the last. Until the 412.
This was the antithesis of the 407; virtually identical mechanically to its predecessor, but looking unimaginably different. The big attraction was to the wind in the hair brigade; a panel in the front of the roof could be removed, and the back folded down leaving just a roll-bar.
This model was soon to be joined by a new saloon, the 603, this being the number of years elapsed since King Edward granted a charter to the City of Bristol. Bizarre perhaps, but the number thirteen could never be used in the new model number!
These two styles were to last the next seventeen years in various guises, including turbocharged form, bearing the names of old Bristol aeroplanes: Beaufighter, Beaufort, Brigand and Britannia, until 1993, when the 412 derivative was dropped, and the Blenheim was introduced to continue the 603 tradition.