The Bristol 400 was the first product of the Bristol Aeroplane Company. After World War II, BAC decided to diversify and formed a car division, Bristol Cars. BAC subsequently acquired a licence from Frazer Nash to build BMW models. Automakers or automobile manufacturers are companies that design and manufacture automobiles. ... Bristol Cars is a manufacturer of hand-built luxury cars, based at Filton, near Bristol, England. ... Bristol Aeroplane Company logo The Bristol Aeroplane Company (formerly British and Colonial Aeroplane Company) was a major British aircraft company which, in 1959, merged its aircraft building interests with several major British aircraft companies to form the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). ... The Bristol 401 saloon and Bristol 402 cabriolet were the sucessors to the initial Bristol 400 produced by Bristol Aeroplane Co. ... It has been suggested that Vehicle size class be merged into this article or section. ... In automobile design, an FR, or front-engine, rear wheel drive means a layout where the engine is in the front of the vehicle and drive wheels at the rear. ... A sports sedan is a type of sedan automobile that is designed to look and feel sporty. ... Bristol Aeroplane Company logo The Bristol Aeroplane Company (formerly British and Colonial Aeroplane Company) was a major British aircraft company which, in 1959, merged with several major British aircraft companies, to become the British Aircraft Corporation and later still part of British Aerospace, now BAE Systems. ... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... Bristol Cars is a manufacturer of hand-built luxury cars, based at Filton, near Bristol, England. ... Frazer was a Formula One constructor from Britain. ... BMW AG (an acronym for Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft, or in English, Bavarian Motor Works Corporation), is an independent German company and manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles. ...

Based on the pre-war BMW 327, the Bristol 400 featured a slightly modified version of BMW's 6 cylinder pushrod engine of 1,971cc (bore 66mm, stroke 96mm). This engine, considered advanced for its time due to its hemispherical combustion chambers and very short inlet and exhaust ports, developed 80 horsepower at 4,500 revs per minutes and could carry the 400 to a top speed of around 148 km/h (92 mph) with acceleration to match. The gearbox was a four-speed manual with synchromesh on all forward ratios. A pushrod engine or overhead valve (OHV) engine is a type of piston engine that places the camshaft below the pistons (usually beside and slightly above the crankshaft in a straight engine or directly above the crankshaft in the V of a V engine) and uses pushrods or rods to... The horsepower (hp) is the name of several non-metric units of power. ...

The car featured independent front suspension with a traverse leaf spring and and live axle with A-bracket and longitudinal torsion bars at the rear. It featured a lengthy 2895mm (114 inch) wheelbase and a very BMW-like grille at the front of its long boonet. The passenger area was very short, with the spare tyre mounted in the boot and visible externally. Independent suspension is broad term for any automobile suspension system that allows each wheel on the same axle to move vertically (i. ... In fortification, a traverse is a mass of earth or other material employed to protect troops against enfilade. ... A leaf spring is a simple form of spring, commonly used for the suspension in wheeled vehicles. ... A live axle is a type of beam axle suspension system that uses the driveshafts that transmit power to the wheels to connect the wheels laterally so that they move together as a unit. ... A torsion spring is a ribbon, bar, or coil that reacts against twisting motion. ...

External links

• Buying a Six-Cylinder Bristol