With the introduction of the 401 - the first of its exquisitely styled Aerodynes - Bristol began to move away from the pre-war design the company had inherited from BMW. Carrozzeria Touring provided the Superleggera method of body construction that overlaid alloy panels on a tubular-steel framework, while the low-drag shape was honed in Bristol's wind tunnel.

It had been intended that the Milan-based carrozzeria would build the first 200 cars, but this idea was abandoned after a mere handful of prototypes.The 401 continued to use the BMW-based, 2.0-litre, six-cylinder engine with its ingeniously arranged, pushrod-operated inclined valves, paired to a 4-speed gearbox.

The 401's aircraft standard of construction did not come cheap however - at £2,270 it cost as much as an Aston Martin DB2 - and only 611 of these exclusive cars found customers between 1948 and 1953.
 
On offer here from the Bunbury Collection is a right-hand drive Bristol 401 that has been part of our vendor's family si...