Tony Crook in Octane Magazine

[Markus Berzborn]

I doubt whether the price of the Fighter really matters. Who is able to spend 200,000 can also spend 300,000 or 400,000. This is really no price class for people who have to check their account first. Look at the Aston Martin One 77, its price tag is just ridiculous, 1.2 million Euros or something like that. But it sells nevertheless.
I think the new Bristol management will have to conduct a thorough market and cost analysis first and have a look at other small specialist car makers and try to understand how they operate. Wiesmann, Pagani, Koenigsegg and so many others - they all survive somehow in spite of small production figures. And there are even entirely new startup manufacturers like Marussia from Russia who have even ventured into Formula 1 for the current season.

As to me, what has been a problem in the long run is the concentration of Bristol Cars on the dwindling British market. It is in countries like Russia and China nowadays that large amounts of money are not only made but also readily spent. But over there hardly anyone knows that Bristol even exists.

Basically, the situation of Bristol Cars is comparable to Aston Martin before being taken over by Ford. But Aston Martin had a much more developed brand awareness. If you said "Aston Martin" everybody could associate something with this name. This is not the case with Bristol.
By the way, Aston Martin are now no longer part of a large conglomerate after Ford sold the company and - they even operate profitably. What they hadn't done for decades. In former times the company was really more like a hobby for people like David Brown or Victor Gauntlett.

Regards,
Markus