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The Bristol 401 saloon and Bristol 402 cabriolet are British luxury sporting cars, produced between 1948 and 1953 by Bristol Cars, an offshoot of the Bristol Aeroplane Co..〔Michael Sedgwick & Mark Gillies, A-Z of Cars 1945–1970, page 39〕 They were the successors to the initial Bristol 400. Although mechanically the 401 and 402 used an improved version of the BMW M328 hemi-head engine and its unusual arrangement of two separate pushrods to operate the exhaust valves (necessitated by the hemispherical combustion chambers and opposite facing valves) used in the 400, the styling was a huge advance on the pre-war bodies of that first Bristol model. It was inspired by the Milanese designer, Carrozzeria Touring, and its most notable feature was that the door handles were not exposed and to open the doors the owner pressed a button into a groove in the door. The body also was more spacious than the 400 and was a full five-seater. At the front the 401 and 402 were also quite distinctive with their headlights moved quite a distance into the centre of the body on either side of the narrow grille, which resembled BMW a little less than did the 400. They were also deeply curved at the front: this, along with the then-unique door handle arrangement, is believed to give the 401 a drag coefficient of less than Cd 0.36 — competitive even by today's standards and remarkable for the time. The engine was the same 2-litre in-line six-cylinder petrol unit of the 400, but was upgraded through improved Solex carburettors to increase power by to , which improved the performance further beyond what was achieved by the aerodynamics. The suspension is independent at the front using a transverse leaf spring and wishbones and the rigid axle at the rear uses torsion bars. Steering is by rack and pinion. The brakes are Lockheed hydraulic with inch drums all round. Although the 401's production figure of 611 is still the largest of any Bristol model, the 402 is regarded as one of the rarest classics among cars of its day. In a recent survey, 13 of the 23 produced could be accounted for. A saloon tested by The Motor magazine in 1952 had a top speed of and could accelerate from 0- in 15.1 seconds. A fuel consumption of was recorded. The test car cost £3532 including taxes. Referring that road test in a subsequent ‘classic car’ feature, the journal summarised the 401 as a “Medium-sized car offering very high standards of comfort and performance”. Bristol 400 by Superleggera Touring of Milan (10949500236).jpg|401 Touring Superleggera (1949) Bristol 400 by Superleggera Touring of Milan (10949711543).jpg|Rear view of the Superleggera Bristol 401 1950-52 (14698167461).jpg|Rear view of a 1950-52 401 Nationale oldtimerdag Zandvoort 2010, 1953 BRISTOL 401, ND-47-88.JPG|Cover open Bristol 402 Drophead (8204230536).jpg|402 Droptop dashboard Bristol 402.JPG|Bristol 402 Droptop Bristol 402 1949.jpg|Painting of the Bristol 402 ==References== 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Bristol 401」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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