Description

Chassis No. 404/X/3084
Engine No. BS1/MKII/285
Body No. 5882

One of the most unique and beautiful sports cars of its generation, the Arnolt-Bristol was the brainchild of Stanley H. “Wacky” Arnolt, a prominent and highly creative Chicago businessman. Having made his first fortune manufacturing the former Sea-Mite marine engine before World War II, after the war he imported several sports cars with bodywork by Italian coachbuilder Bertone, with whom he enjoyed a very close business relationship.

Arnolt's namesake sports car combined a box-section chassis with British automaker Bristol's superb two-liter, hemi-head BS1 MKII 130-horsepower engine, derived from the excellent pre war BMW 328 design, as well as transverse-leaf front suspension, live rear axle, and, of course, elaborately curved full-figured Bertone bodywork. It was a gorgeous machine and, featherweight at 1,800 pounds, provided outstanding performance for a sports car of the time, including a 0-60 mph run in 8.7 seconds and a top speed of 110 mph. Examples were very successful in the SCCA Modified Championship in 1954, 1955, and 1956, and also competed in the 12 Hours of Sebring. Arnolt oversaw production of 142 cars, many of them slinky open roadsters, and retailed them through his Chicago auspices to a worldwide roster of racing drivers and celebrities before his passing in 1963.

The Deluxe Roadster offered here is one of the finest examples available. Featured in the master list of Arnolt-Bristol automobiles, it is rare among these oft-raced cars in that it retains its original MKII engine, equipped with triple Weber 34 ICH carburetors, and its original numbering plates. Further, the original serial-number plate and stamp are still present on the chassis. Close inspection shows that not only does the car have all properly fitted panels, but that it retains much of its original body, with the original hammer marks and spot welds still visible underneath – thus it has lived an exceptionally clean and easy life, likely largely off the track.

The car was restored in its present dark grey livery with rich leather interior and in 2011 it then joined another prominent Midwestern stable of performance machines, where it resided under meticulously maintained care for the next nine years. In 2020 it was added to the collection of its present owner, a longstanding connoisseur of Arnolt-Bristols and other performance machines. It has been regularly driven and enjoyed since acquisition, and remains in very fine overall condition; in recent inspection by a Broad Arrow specialist, it was found to start on-the-button and run beautifully.

Eligible for any number of vintage rallies, most prominently the California Mille and Colorado Grand, as well as for racing, this is an exceptional performance machine and ready for thousands more miles with a modern sportsman behind the wheel.

*Please note that this lot is equipped with a rare and practical overdrive transmission.

*Additionally, contrary to the catalog description, this Arnolt Bristol was not, in fact, part of the Tom Mittler Collection.