Wooden replicas used to make iconic bristol cars saved from scrapheap

* THE WOODEN MODELS, KNOWN AS STYLING 'BUCKS', WERE FOUND IN AN ABANDONED FACTORY IN WINDLESHAM, SURREY * THESE DUST-COVERED FRAMES WERE USED AS DESIGN MODELS FOR ICONIC BRITISH

CAR MANUFACTURERS BRISTOL CARS LTD.  * THE COMPANY WAS FORCED INTO LIQUIDATION EARLIER THIS YEAR DESPITE SEVERAL COURT BIDS TO SAVE THE ICONIC BRAND  * BRISTOL CARS WERE CULT HITS BUT OVER

THE COURSE OF ITS 70-YEAR HISTORY SLOWLY LOST ITS REPUTATION FOR CAR DESIGN  By SARA SCARLETT and ANTONIA PAGET FOR MAILONLINE Published: 13:14 EDT, 29 October 2020 | Updated: 04:08 EDT, 30

October 2020 They were known for their elegant style, their smooth curves and luxury designs, but you would never know it from looking at these dust-covered models.  An extraordinary

collection of life-sized wooden models from the manufacturing heydey of the iconic British motoring brand Bristol Cars Ltd. have been discovered. It comes months after it was announced

earlier this year that the world-famous car company was going into liquidation after 74 years.  The wooden models, known as styling 'bucks', were found in an abandoned factory in

Surrey. They were once used as large design models for the bodywork of the famous cars, and would have been used by expert craftsmen to construct and form handmade body panels for the

exclusive vehicles.   Stacks of the hand-crafted metal body panels were also found piled up on wooden palletes. The shape of the iconic cars can clearly be seen in the ghostly wooden frames

found propped up in the dusty factory. Some were even scrawled with messages, including one wooden model with 'Good-bye Dolly' written in white chalk along one side.   But now the

ghostly models from the Bristol Cars site at Windlesham have been saved from the scrapheap in a nod to the company's illustrious past. Bono, Liam Gallagher and Sir Richard Branson are

all amongst the roll-call of famous owners of these luxury vehicles.  Tina Turner and fashion designer Paul Smith were also fans of the iconic Bristol brand. But car enthusiasts were

devastated to learn earlier this year that the world-famous car company was going into liquidation after 74 years. It was the demise of an iconic British company, which to the end maintained

a loyal customer base and drew admiring eyes through the windows of its one showroom on High Street Kensington in London- the start of the A4 road back to Bristol. Bristol Cars Ltd. was

widely understood to have been formed in 1946 as an offshoot of the wartime Bristol Aeroplane Company.   Going back even further in the company's history, it becomes apparents that its

true origins lie in trams.  The Bristol Tramways company, founded in 1875 was run by a junior solicitor named George White.   After the power supply powering the city's trams was

destroyed by Hitler's World War II airforce, the Luftwaffe, Mr White travelled to France where he saw the Wright Brothers fly. The two American aviation pioneers are generally credited

with inventing, building, and flying the world's first successful motor-operated plane. Mr White was enthralled and used his experience running a transport business to launch his own

aeroplane manufacturing company.     In 1910, after six months of planning, the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company was founded. The first plane was the Bristol Zodiac, a copy of similar

Voisin box planes designed and manufactured under license.  During WWI, Bristol planes gained a reputation for speed and agility. The Bristol Scout was nicknamed the Bristol

'Bullet' and soon became a vital part of the war effort.  But, in 1918, the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, which had since been re-branded as the Bristol Aircraft

Corporation, created its sister-company Bristol Cars. The off-shoot was founded when orders for planes disappeared overnight in the in the aftermath of the war.  The move saved 70,000 jobs

as the company began to build car bodies and bus bodies for the then still operational tram arm of the company.  The company also started to manufacture the Bristol Monocar – its first

private passenger vehicle. As the years progressed, Bristol Cars built a reputation as a maker of extraordinary fine and fast cars.  A Bristol 450 won the two litre class at Reims in 1953

with star drivers such as Jack Brabham, Mike Hawthorn and Stirling Moss all working for Bristol.  As a result of government policy in the 1950s, the Bristol's plane and car divisions

were split.  This left the company without the means to develop their own engines and without a clear raison d'etre.  In the 1970s, long-time fans of the brand began to sour on the

brand's designs. The Bristol 412's awkward proportions meant the car failed to attract new customers.  In a cruel twist of fate, Bristol Car's founder Sir George White crashed

his Bristol 410 and resigned from the company and sold his stake to Anthony Crook who became Bristol Car's sole distributor.  Bristol's designs in the 80s failed to win new fans.

The designs of the 1980 Beaufighter, 1982 Britannia and the 1993 Blenheim have been described as 'dated'.  Former racing driver and RAF pilot Mr Crook also allegedly old sold the

cars to people he liked.  It was throughout this decade the company's once sterling reputation was lost for good.  A Bristol Car featured on the Top Gear TV show in the 1990s but the

British brand never made the comeback it hoped for.  Desperate to breathe life back into his flagging business, Anthony Crook sold 50% of Bristol Cars to Toby Silverton. The two men designed

what they thought would be the company's saviour.  The ambitiously named Bristol Fighter was a nod to the company's aeronautical past. It was manufactured from 2004 until the

company went into administration in 2011.  Visually it won acclaim and was widely considered a design 'masterpiece' with top speeds of 210mph.   But the car didn't sell. The

reputation of Bristol Cars was long gone and other car manufacturers were offering stronger vehicles in the niche sport car market.   It's unclear how many Fighters were actually

ordered, it has been rumoured that a total of 13 were manufactured according to Car and Classic Magazine, but the true number is speculated to be lower. Some estimates put the number as low

as 9.  In 2011 Bristol Cars went out of business with the loss of 22 jobs at the factory, only to be resurrected in a rescue package.  The Bristol Bullet was unveiled in 2016, 12 years after

the Bristol Fighter was released, to celebrate the founding of the company 70 years before.  The car never made it to production despite interest from prospective buyers. It would have cost

£250,000 had it made it to market. The car manufacturer was always a low-volume car-maker, its luxury and upmarket vehicles were hand-built without any kind of mass production conveyor

belt.  But toward the end of the company's demise, it is rumoured that Bristol Cars Ltd. was shifting just 20 vehicles a year.  One of these luxurious vehicles would set a new owner

back by somewhere between £150,000 and £250,000.  In March this year, the company again went into administration and during lockdown in May, Bristol Cars was put into liquidation. Part of

the company will continue to trade under the name of ‘Bristol Superlight'.