The Bristol 406 is a luxury car produced between 1958 and 1961 by British manufacturer Bristol Aeroplane Co. Bristol Aeroplane's car division later became Bristol Cars.
It was the last Bristol to use the BMW-derived pushrod straight six engine that had powered all cars built by the company up to that point. In a stopgap measure for the 406 its torque was improved by a 245 cc increase in capacity because it was clearly unable to give a performance comparable to that of newer engines emerging at the time.
Body
A prototype with a body by Carrosserie Beutler of Thun in Switzerland was exhibited in 1957 in both Paris and London Motor Shows. The start of production at Filton was announced in late August 1958.[3] Most of the bodies for the 406 were manufactured by Jones Brothers in London.[4] The styling made the 406 more of a luxury car than a true sports saloon. It was, nevertheless, described as "a delight to drive" by a 1974 reviewer from Car magazine.[5]