• One of only 265 made • Effortless high-speed cruising for four • Current ownership since 1998 • Original Bristol Advice of Despatch on file With the 1953 introduction of the short-wheelbase 404 coupé, the Bristol line at last lost its resemblance to the pre-war BMW, swapping that distinctive two-piece radiator grille for an equally unmistakable, aeronautically inspired air intake.

The body was still an ash-framed, aluminium-alloy panelled structure, but the bonnet was now forward-hinging and for the first time the spare wheel was accommodated in the near-side front wing.

Bristol continued to use the BMW-based, 2.0-litre, six-cylinder engine with its ingeniously arranged, pushrod-operated inclined valves, and this was available in either 105bhp or 125bhp form in the 404.

The gearbox remained a manual four-speed unit with first-gear freewheel.

In October 1954 at the Paris Salon Bristol introduced the 405, effectively a stretched four-door version of the 404, which otherwise it clos...