Bristol · 1958–1961
Bristol 406
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.
Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Predecessor: Bristol 404 and 405 · Successor: Bristol 407
All Bristol 406 data: UK builds, safety, recalls, model years →
Specifications
- name
- Bristol 406
- Manufacturer
- Bristol Cars (then Bristol Aeroplane Co.)
- Production
- 1958–1961, 174 units
- Assembly
- United Kingdom: Filton
- Class
- Sports car (S)
- Body style
- 2-door saloon
- Engine
- 2,216 cc OHV I6
- Layout
- FR
- Predecessor
- Bristol 404 and 405
- Successor
- Bristol 407
- Transmission
- 4-speed manual with overdrive
- Wheelbase
- 2896 mm
- Length
- 4978 mm
- Width
- 1727 mm
- Kerb weight
- 1365 kg, 2408 lb (Zagato)
Specification summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Measured facts from Wikidata (CC0). Check the linked sources for citations.
More photos
Sources
- Wikidata — https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q917832CC0 1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_406CC BY-SA 4.0 · Text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1377266163 · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bristol_406_-_Flickr_-_mick_-_Lumix.jpgCC BY 2.0 · Photo: Mick from Northamptonshire, England · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.