Bristol Bullet ‘Gentleman’s Supercar’ costs £250k – just 70 being built

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The new Bristol Bullet has been revealed as a Gentleman’s Carriage with supercar performance thanks to its 4.8 litre V8 from BMW. Costs around £250k.

We learnt a few weeks ago that Bristol’s Project Pinnacle – a new car to resurrect Britsol Cars under the ownership of former competitor Frazer Nash – would be the Bristol Bullet and feature a V8 petrol engine. And here it is.

Looking quirkily handsome as a Bristol should, Frazer Nash has played safe with the first new Bristol in too long by forsaking its new mission in life – all things ‘Green’ – and kept faith with Bristol’s history by using a petrol V8.

But this isn’t some low capacity, triple-turbo state of the art V8, but BMW’s 4.8 litre V8, already pressed in to service by the likes of Morgan, naturally aspirated lump with 370bhp and 370ft/lb of torque – mated to a six-speed BMW manual or automatic gearbox – delivering 0-62mph in 3.8 seconds and the normal pointless capped 155mph.

That sort of performance from a relatively low-tech, low-power V8 is possible thanks to extensive use of carbon fibre composites keeping the kerb weight down to a remarkable 1,100kg, but despite the modern materials for the body the Bullet looks pleasingly retro, and gets a herd of bulls slaughtered to create its interior, but does get touchscreen infotainment, Bluetooth and wifi.

The Bristol Bullet is due to go in to production in early 2017, with just 70 being built and many of those already finding homes, even at a price close to £250,000.

But don’t worry, Frazer Nash has plans for more from Bristol, although you may find anything in the future has an EV or Hybrid powertrain rather than a naturally aspirated V8.