b r i s t o l s t o b ru s s e l s
To Brussels
by Bristol
Brussels is noted for its fine cuisine, and it’s a
460-mile round trip from London. Go there for
lunch and back in a day? No big deal in a Bristol
Words Robert Coucher // Photography Matthew Howell
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b r i s t o l s t o b ru s s e l s
1966 Bristol 410
ENGINE 5211cc V8, OHV, Carter four-barrel carburettor POWER 250bhp @ 4400rpm
TORQUE 340 lb ft @ 3800rpm TRANSMISSION Three-speed automatic,
rear-wheel drive STEERING ZF recirculating ball, power-assisted
SUSPENSION Front: independent unequal wishbones, helical springs,
telescopic dampers, anti-roll bar. Rear: live axle, torsion bars, Watt’s linkage,
telescopic dampers BRAKES Girling discs, servo-assisted WEIGHT 1600kg
PERFORMANCE Top speed 130mph. 0-60mph 8.0sec
1970 Bristol 411
ENGINE 6277cc V8, OHV, Carter four-barrel carburettor Power 335bhp @5200rpm
Torque 425 lb ft @ 3400rpm TRANSMISSION Three-speed automatic,
rear-wheel drive STEERING ZF recirculating ball, power-assisted
SUSPENSION Front: independent unequal wishbones, helical springs,
telescopic dampers, anti-roll bar. Rear: live axle, torsion bars, Watt’s linkage,
adjustable telescopic dampers BRAKES Discs, servo-assisted WEIGHT 1690kg
PERFORMANCE Top speed 138mph. 0-60mph 7.0sec
T
o my mind, a proper lunch is
the epitome of civilised life. And
the more formal the better. Taken
with good friends, it should last
at least a couple of languid
hours, preceded by a degree of
anticipation, helped along by a dollop of effort, supported
by an ample supply of decent wine and then rounded off
with a moist Cuban cigar.
But all too often these days, lunch is regarded with
puritanical disdain. We are reduced to snatching a preprepared sandwich, shovelled down while we’re
hunched over a keyboard – there are five times more
germs on an average computer keyboard than in your
lavatory – and, as for the digestive sensibilities of a glass
or two of good wine, heaven forfend. No, only a sugarlaced cola or salty mineral water is allowed, even though
both interfere with proper digestion, adding to the
obesity epidemic of our ‘fast food’ world. Edwardian
gentlemen had it right; a proper lunch is good for you.
Belgium (Brussels in particular) is home to some of the
best restaurants in Europe. I don’t really know my way
around the city but Belgian Pascal Maeter certainly does.
He is a gourmand and superb cook, with an Edwardian
gentleman’s nose for epicurean adventures. Pascal is also
a keen classic car driver. You can see where this is going…
Sir George G Stanley White Bt, son of the
Edwardian gentleman Sir George White, was the
managing director of the Bristol Aeroplane Company
90 april 2014 OCTANE
from 1914 to 1954. After World War Two, Sir George
twigged that the voracious demand for Bristol aircraft
and aero engines would dry up, so he began working
with AFN Ltd, maker of Frazer Nash cars and the British
importer of BMWs. And so, when hostilities came to an
end, HJ Aldington of AFN went to Munich and
purchased the rights to manufacture three BMW models
and the 328 engine, as part of the War Reparations deal.
But soon the Bristol and AFN co-operative split up
and the Bristol Car Division became an independent
manufacturer of motor cars.
The Bristol 400 made its first appearance at the
Geneva motor show in 1947. It was not a sports car but
rather a high-quality gentleman’s four-seater. Power
was provided by an upgraded BMW 328 six-cylinder
engine and the car featured outstanding steering and
handling. In 1949 a 400 finished third in the Touring
Class on the Mille Miglia, driven by Count Johnny
Lurani – a true gentleman driver.
The 400 was superseded by the 401, 402 and so on
until 1965, when the new 409 model was launched with
a stonking great Chrysler V8 coupled to an automatic
transmission. Bristol purists were shocked that the
venerable ‘six’ was being replaced by an American V8,
but the V8-era cars promised superb grand touring
capabilities. Today we have the recently deceased
former racing driver and sole Bristol distributor Tony
Crook (see page 20) to thank for his percipience in
understanding that more discreet power was required.
These big-hearted machines are just what we need for
Above and right
Coucher and Co meet up in
Chelsea at dawn; pop out
from under the sea in Calais,
turn left et voilà! Belgium.
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‘We’re gentlemen drivers, after all, and have big V8engined Bristols at the ready, so let’s do it in one hit’
this motoring adventure – a quick (though gentlemanly)
drive to Brussels for lunch.
The 1968 Bristol 410 you see here, finished in ‘White’
green, has recently been acquired by Pascal Maeter and
is in need of a long Continental run. Sir George G Stanley
White’s great grandson, George White – who goes by the
name of Philip because he is the fifth ‘George’, which
confused everyone – now works for Bristol Cars and
brings along this 1970 Bristol 411 Series I, finished in
metallic blue with its original black vinyl roof. Very
period and correct. Philip has a competition Austin 7 for
motoring amusement and, judging by his fresh-faced,
youthful looks, is more interested in driving than eating.
Ha! We haven’t yet told him what’s on the menu.
The lunch trip begins at the crack of dawn at Pascal’s
garage in Chelsea. The early gloom is enlivened by the
immaculate Bristol 410 reversing out into the creeping
light. The 5.3-litre V8’s rumble fills the mews as
condensation from the twin exhausts rises into the cool
air. Philip White then arrives behind the wheel of the 411,
its engine note considerably quieter.
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The initial plan was to motor down through Belgium,
have lunch, spend the night and then drive back the next
day. But Brussels is not that far away so it seems a bit
effete to spend two days on the trip. We’re gentlemen
drivers, after all, and have big V8-engined Bristols at the
ready, so let’s do it in one hit.
These cars are designed to consume distance with
disdainful insouciance. Pascal’s 410 comes from the
Classic Throttle Shop in Sydney, Australia. It has covered
only 19,672 miles and appears to be in perfect fettle.
A 460-mile round trip? No worries, mate.
It would be disingenuous of me to say that we plotted
a romantic route along scenic backroads through France
and Belgium. We did not. The intention was to get to
lunch and back as fast as possible in these mile-eating
Bristols. If we’d been in earlier, six-cylinder iterations
then yes, we would have considered more classicfriendly roads. Instead we opt for the fast and open N40
motorway directly into Brussels. Sat-nav? Of course not.
We have the rather amply qualified Pascal for that
particular task.
As we set off I suggest Pascal gives his 410 a bit of stick
out of London, and he obliges. Following in the blue 411,
we have to press-on to keep up. Philip is driving. From
Chelsea, through Knightsbridge, Westminster and the
Docklands, the Bristols power through the city at a good
clip. Breaking out onto the M20 motorway, the cars ease
into a comfortable gallop. At the Eurotunnel, it’s under
the English Channel, arriving in France some 35 minutes
later. What an impressive feat of engineering.
Once we get back above ground in Calais I take the
wheel of the 411. I must confess, I rather appreciate
Bristol motor cars. I have always wanted to own one and
almost did. I like the fact that they are virtually invisible
on the road because, to the uninitiated, they look like
Austin Westminsters. Ferrari owners have absolutely no
idea, in the same way no Bristol owner would ever deign
to wear a medallion (apart, perhaps, from arriviste
singer Liam Gallagher and mogul Richard Branson).
‘Discreet’ is too active an adjective to apply to a
handmade, aluminium, coachbuilt Bristol. Detractors
see them as eccentric and old-fashioned. Enthusiasts see
them as… eccentric and old-fashioned, but also low-key,
fast, and fastidiously constructed and engineered. More
go than show.
This 36,000-mile 411 proves to be quick, smooth, quiet,
accurate, responsive and refined. The power steering is
beautifully weighted and the steering wheel is perfectly
placed. Sitting in the luxuriously stuffed black leather
armchair with a good view of the walnut dashboard, I
find the car is just as I expected: an involving, longlegged grand tourer. The sizable 6277cc V8 is subdued
and the three-speed Torqueflite automatic transmission
is a good match for all the easy 425lb ft of torque; power
is quoted at 335bhp. Both are optimistic SAE figures but
it certainly feels up to muster and the whole driving
experience is what you might expect of a car far younger
than this 411’s 44 years. In its day it was faster to 60mph
and had a higher top speed than its contemporary
autobahn-storming Mercedes-Benz 300SEL 6.3, then
regarded as the best saloon in the world.
Spearing past Dunkerque and on towards Jabbeke
we swap cars and I take the wheel of Pascal’s 410. It
immediately feels more compact and that Bluemels
steering wheel is fabulous. Start the smaller 5211cc V8
and it sounds like a muscle car – vocal and with a more
obvious energy than the refined 411. On the move the
100kg lighter 410 is sharp and alert. It feels faster than the
later car, but is actually not, as it has to make do with just
250bhp and 340lb ft of torque. But you are closer to the
action with the 410. Involvement is increased.
As we hit Belgium the clear blue skies turn black and
the rain comes down in torrents. The 410, with its 16in
wheels shod with narrow 185 tyres, is not as secure as the
411 on 15in wheels with fatter 205-section rubber. It’s
interesting to feel the evolutionary development between
these two. Just four years separate them, they look
Above and left
The pale blue car is the 411,
currently for sale at Bristol Cars;
Coucher found the 410 felt a bit
more raw – but preferred it.
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similar even if almost every panel has been changed on
the 411, but you really notice the engineering advances
on the road. The 411 feels more planted and has better
steering than the slightly more raw 410. But we like raw.
A good thing, as it turns out later…
Arriving in the centre of Brussels, we park outside the
famous Au Vieux Saint-Martin restaurant, off the Place
du Grand Sablon near the Grand Palace. Proprietor
Albert-Jean Niels and his son Frederic, hearing the dual
V8 rumble, come out to welcome us. The landmark
restaurant was founded in 1968 and they are third- and
fourth-generation restaurateurs, respectively. This is
becoming a family affair.
Albert-Jean owns an Aston Martin DB5, so we are in
good company. They have a good look around the hot
yet unflustered Bristols before we retire to the best table
in the house to admire the contemporary art that adorns
the walls, by such notables as Alechinsky, Bervoets,
Swennen and Reynhoud. The menu is discarded, as we
know what we want, even if Philip White is still in the
dark. There is only one thing to plump for: Au Vieux
Saint-Martin’s signature dish. Filet Americain!
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Grandfather Niels initially worked at the Savoy in
London, founded the La Royale restaurant in Brussels
and then the Canterbury in 1924, where he invented the
Filet Americain, a specifically created steak tartare. The
recipe? Finely chopped best-quality Irish beef with the
nerves carefully removed, mayonnaise, chopped
piccalilli, four egg yolks, salt, pepper, genuine Lee &
Perrins’ Worcestershire sauce, diced onion and parsley.
All served with medium-cut Belgian chips, watercress,
onion, and sweet and sour cucumbers.
As we are about to eat, fellow Belgian car connoisseur,
Hubert Fabri, strolls in and joins the lunch party. He
asks which Bristol I prefer and I am clear: the 410. With
Philip looking a bit wary – he’s never eaten raw steak
before but, to his credit, he polishes off the lot – the Filet
Americain is served with a flourish to the appreciative
assemblage of hungry drivers. Top-quality, subtle,
luxurious, hearty, tasty and raw. Much like the Bristols
parked outside. End
Above
Destination achieved: Au Vieux
Saint-Martin restaurant for Filet
Americain, its own exclusive
interpretation of steak tartare.
thanks to Pascal Maeter; George White, www.bristolcars.co.uk;
Au-Vieux Saint-Martin, www.auvieuxsaintmartin.be; the Classic
Throttle Shop, www.classicthrottleshop.com.
OCTANE MONTH 2013 95