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Arnolt Bristol Sportscar

Production: 1954 - 1958

This was a production series of cars specially commissioned from the Bristol Aeroplane Company (Car Division) Ltd by S H "Wacky" Arnolt of Warsaw, Indiana USA. "Wacky" was then successfully running an MG agency and dealership in the USA and also was a Vice President of the design house of Bertone in Italy.

The prototype car was introduced in 1953. Series production and shipping commenced in 1954 and ceased in 1959, though one car held as factory stock in Indiana was revamped and was only finally sold in 1968.

Further References

• The Racer with Worldly Origins by Bill Vance at driving.ca
• Wikipedia article

Development, Design and Delivery
DevelopmentA hybrid in every sense, the Type 404/X was fabricated on the shortened Type 404 chassis with Type 403 running gear, but was fitted as standard with the Bristol 2 litre BS1/Mk2 series straight six cylinder sports engine. Driven chassis were shipped out to Italy where they were generally clad with a steel body though there were a few notable exceptions....
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Production and Specification
The accepted production figure is of 142 cars, which included 6 chassis that were clad as fixed-head coupés. Sadly, 12 units were originally reported damaged or destroyed in a fire in a Chicago warehouse before reaching Arnolt at Warsaw, Indiana, USA. Others were reported with lesser scorch and superficial fire damage. At least one of these twelve cars was thought later rebuilt. It seems more likely that it was one of the scorched cars rather than a totally burnt out unit....
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