by Mike –
Stephen Hawkins and his father, Ray, now share on an Australian TV show their beautiful and reliable Arnolt-Bristol. They have earlier shared their Iso Grifo.
The video below is only 5:20 long and is interesting. The sound of that engine is terrific.
In the early 1950s Stanley Harold Arnolt, also known as “Wacky” Arnolt, was an American importer of MG, Jaguar, Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin and Bristol cars. He started making his own cars with a Bertone design based on the MG TD chassis. continue here…
Sell your classic car on My Car Quest – click here.
In 1969, Franco Scaglione, who designed the Arnolt-Bristol body for Carrozzeria Bertone, told me that he was “trying to express the ‘sheetness’ of the metal.” I have always thought that a fascinating observation, and think that Scaglione did a wonderful job of executing that concept. The sharp edges and very gentle convexities are wonderful, and the overall composition does a great job of dealing with a truly awkward mechanical package. That late-Thirties BMW engine is really tall. One clever trick is having the bottom of the body high above the bottom of the chassis, which you simply don’t see, although it is there in plain sight.
I always thought the best looking designs were a combination of sharp lines and graceful curves, the Iso Grifo being one of the best. This car is a good example too. many of those designs took place when the styles changed from the round 50’s era to the folded paper in late sixties, too bad those interim years couldn’t have lasted a bit longer.