The Bristol 406 was a luxury car produced between 1958 and 1961 by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

manufacturer Bristol Aeroplane Co. Their cars were constructed to very high engineering standards and were intended to be long-lasting to justify their very high price. Buyers might arrange considerable changes to the specification of their own particular vehicle. Bristol Aeroplane's car division later became Bristol Cars. It was the last Bristol to use the

BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...

-derived pushrod straight six engine that had powered all cars built by the company up to that point. In a stopgap measure for the 406 its torque was improved by a 245 cc increase in capacity because it was clearly unable to give a performance comparable to that of newer engines emerging at the time.

Body

A prototype with a body by Carrosserie Beutler of Thun in Switzerland was exhibited in 1957 in both Paris and London Motor Shows. The start of production at Filton was announced in late August 1958. Most of the bodies for the 406 were manufactured by Jones Brothers in London.

Engine

Compared to the 405, the 406 saw several significant changes. The most important was that the six-cylinder engine itself was enlarged slightly in both bore and

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to dimensions of 69 mm by 100 mm (2.71 inches by 3.94 inches). This gave an

engine displacement Engine displacement is the measure of the cylinder volume swept by all of the pistons of a piston engine, excluding the combustion chambers. It is commonly used as an expression of an engine's size, and by extension as an indicator of the ...

of 2,216 cc (135 cubic inches) but the actual power of the engine was no greater than that of the 405. However, the

torque In physics and mechanics, torque is the rotational analogue of linear force. It is also referred to as the moment of force (also abbreviated to moment). The symbol for torque is typically \boldsymbol\tau, the lowercase Greek letter ''tau''. Wh ...

was higher than for the smaller engine, especially at low engine speeds. Manufacture of the 2-litre version continued for supply to AC Cars for their AC Ace and Aceca.

Disc brakes

The 406 also featured Dunlop-built

disc brake A disc brake is a type of brake that uses the #Calipers, calipers to squeeze pairs of #Brake pads, pads against a disc (sometimes called a rakerotor) to create friction. There are two basic types of brake pad friction mechanisms: abrasive f ...

s on all four wheels (making it one of the first cars with four-wheel disc brakes) and a two-door saloon body Bristol were to stick with for a long period after adopting

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V8 engines with the 407. The styling made the 406 more of a luxury car than a true sports saloon. It was, nevertheless, "a delight to drive". The rear suspension of the 406 also did away with the outdated A-bracket of all previous Bristols for a more modern Watt's linkage. The 406 was the world's first production car to be thus equipped. However, the outdated front suspension of previous Bristols was retained and not updated until the following model with its more powerful drivetrain.

Zagato

Two short- wheelbase 406s, known as 406Ss, were bodied by Zagato. In all, there were only six 406s with Zagato bodies.Setright, p.234 f.n. Rather than the of the standard cars, these received a fettled engine with and a stainless Abarth exhaust, which combined with the considerably lighter weight to make a spirited performer out of the 406. File:1959 Bristol 406 Zagato 2.2 Front.jpg, Bristol 406 Zagato File:1959 Bristol 406 Zagato 2.2 Side.jpg, Side File:1959 Bristol 406 Zagato 2.2 Rear.jpg, Rear File:1959 Bristol 406 Zagato 2.2 Badge.jpg, Zagato Badge

Replacement

The engine's ageing design was dealt with in 1961 by replacing it with a 5-litre Chrysler V8. The resulting car was renamed Bristol 407.

Notes

External links

Bristol Owners Club, Bristol Type 406 - 2.2 litre Saloon

Buying a Six-Cylinder Bristol
{{Bristol Cars 406 Cars introduced in 1958 Rear-wheel-drive vehicles Sports sedans