‘The 400 was meticulously assembled so as to appeal to drivers with a sporting inclination’
‘In the early 1990s, I lived in Portsmouth and used to commute up to London with a chum on a regular basis,’ says Bristol enthusiast Neil Clifford. ‘Naturally we’d get stuck in traffic, often in Kensington, so I’d pull over and we’d go and gaze through the glass and into the Bristol Showroom on the corner of Kensington High Street, number 370. And yes, that’s the same “Bristol Cars” sign you see on my car hangar that used to adorn the showroom frontage, but I’ll come to that…
‘The proprietor, Anthony Crook – I always enjoyed his name badge “A Crook” – knew we were just a bunch of young lads with no money, but he started to invite us in and show us around the cars. He’d tell us about his time as a Spitfire pilot, as well as racing with Stirling Moss back in the 1950s. A real gentleman. I kept telling him that one day I’d come in and buy a Bristol.’
Neil smiles. ‘Having been car mad since a child, I devoured all the car magazines and really enjoyed LJK Setright and his fascination with Bristols. The way he wrote about them intrigued me.’
