Bristol 400

The Bristol 400 was the company's first car, a postwar saloon built by an aircraft maker and priced above an Aston Martin DB2. This one is the 299th of 421 Standard-bodied cars, first registered in October 1949 to a Worksop flour mill. It is also one of very few believed to have the more powerful 100A engine, which the factory record card shows was fitted in 1953 at 38,476 miles.

The car has been through a 2,000-hour restoration that began in 2012. It included new steel panels in the floor and wheel arches, and a full photographic record of the work survives. A marque specialist has called it possibly the best example in the world. Upgrades include a J-type overdrive conversion by Derek Hughes, a disc brake conversion, electronic ignition, a new wiring loom, a stainless exhaust, a period Webasto sunroof and a Bristol-done interior retrim.

Ownership history is well documented, from its time in the Stratford-on-Avon Motor Museum to a series of private keepers. The history file holds invoices, specialist reports, articles and photographs, plus the buff log book and a copy of the factory record card. The page gives no mileage, and the current owner reports it as faultless, including a drive back to the dealer.