To Brussels By BrisTol

Brussels is noted for its fine cuisine, and it’s a 460-mile round trip from London. Go there for

lunch and back in a day? No big deal in a Bristol

Words Robert Coucher // PhotograPhy Matthew Howell

br istols to brussels

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br istols to brussels

T o my mind, a proper lunch is the epitome of civilised life. And the more formal the better. Taken with good friends, it should last at least a couple of languid hours, preceded by a degree of

anticipation, helped along by a dollop of effort, supported by an ample supply of decent wine and then rounded off with a moist Cuban cigar.

But all too often these days, lunch is regarded with puritanical disdain. We are reduced to snatching a pre-prepared sandwich, shovelled down while we’re hunched over a keyboard – there are five times more germs on an average computer keyboard than in your lavatory – and, as for the digestive sensibilities of a glass or two of good wine, heaven forfend. No, only a sugar-laced cola or salty mineral water is allowed, even though both interfere with proper digestion, adding to the obesity epidemic of our ‘fast food’ world. Edwardian gentlemen had it right; a proper lunch is good for you.

Belgium (Brussels in particular) is home to some of the best restaurants in Europe. I don’t really know my way around the city but Belgian Pascal Maeter certainly does. He is a gourmand and superb cook, with an Edwardian gentleman’s nose for epicurean adventures. Pascal is also a keen classic car driver. You can see where this is going…

SIr GEorGE G STANlEY WHITE BT, son of the Edwardian gentleman Sir George White, was the managing director of the Bristol Aeroplane Company

from 1914 to 1954. After World War Two, Sir George twigged that the voracious demand for Bristol aircraft and aero engines would dry up, so he began working with AFN ltd, maker of Frazer Nash cars and the British importer of BMWs. And so, when hostilities came to an end, HJ Aldington of AFN went to Munich and purchased the rights to manufacture three BMW models and the 328 engine, as part of the War reparations deal. But soon the Bristol and AFN co-operative split up and the Bristol Car Division became an independent manufacturer of motor cars.

The Bristol 400 made its first appearance at the Geneva motor show in 1947. It was not a sports car but rather a high-quality gentleman’s four-seater. Power was provided by an upgraded BMW 328 six-cylinder engine and the car featured outstanding steering and handling. In 1949 a 400 finished third in the Touring Class on the Mille Miglia, driven by Count Johnny lurani – a true gentleman driver.

The 400 was superseded by the 401, 402 and so on until 1965, when the new 409 model was launched with a stonking great Chrysler V8 coupled to an automatic transmission. Bristol purists were shocked that the venerable ‘six’ was being replaced by an American V8, but the V8-era cars promised superb grand touring capabilities. Today we have the recently deceased former racing driver and sole Bristol distributor Tony Crook (see page 20) to thank for his percipience in understanding that more discreet power was required. These big-hearted machines are just what we need for

Above and right Coucher and Co meet up in Chelsea at dawn; pop out from under the sea in Calais, turn left et voilà! Belgium.

1966 bristol 410ENGINE 5211cc V8, OHV, Carter four-barrel carburettor POWER 250bhp @ 4400rpm TORQUE 340 lb ft @ 3800rpm TRANSMISSION Three-speed automatic, rear-wheel drive STEERING ZF recirculating ball, power-assistedSUSPENSION Front: independent unequal wishbones, helical springs, telescopic dampers, anti-roll bar. Rear: live axle, torsion bars, Watt’s linkage, telescopic dampers BRAKES Girling discs, servo-assisted WEIGHT 1600kg PERFORMANCE Top speed 130mph. 0-60mph 8.0sec

1970 bristol 411ENGINE 6277cc V8, OHV, Carter four-barrel carburettor POWER 335bhp @5200rpm TORQUE 425 lb ft @ 3400rpm TRANSMISSION Three-speed automatic, rear-wheel drive STEERING ZF recirculating ball, power-assistedSUSPENSION Front: independent unequal wishbones, helical springs, telescopic dampers, anti-roll bar. Rear: live axle, torsion bars, Watt’s linkage, adjustable telescopic dampers BRAKES Discs, servo-assisted WEIGHT 1690kg PERFORMANCE Top speed 138mph. 0-60mph 7.0sec

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As we set off I suggest Pascal gives his 410 a bit of stick out of london, and he obliges. Following in the blue 411, we have to press-on to keep up. Philip is driving. From Chelsea, through Knightsbridge, Westminster and the Docklands, the Bristols power through the city at a good clip. Breaking out onto the M20 motorway, the cars ease into a comfortable gallop. At the Eurotunnel, it’s under the English Channel, arriving in France some 35 minutes later. What an impressive feat of engineering.

once we get back above ground in Calais I take the wheel of the 411. I must confess, I rather appreciate Bristol motor cars. I have always wanted to own one and almost did. I like the fact that they are virtually invisible on the road because, to the uninitiated, they look like Austin Westminsters. Ferrari owners have absolutely no idea, in the same way no Bristol owner would ever deign to wear a medallion (apart, perhaps, from arriviste singer liam Gallagher and mogul richard Branson). ‘Discreet’ is too active an adjective to apply to a handmade, aluminium, coachbuilt Bristol. Detractors see them as eccentric and old-fashioned. Enthusiasts see them as… eccentric and old-fashioned, but also low-key, fast, and fastidiously constructed and engineered. More go than show.

This 36,000-mile 411 proves to be quick, smooth, quiet, accurate, responsive and refined. The power steering is beautifully weighted and the steering wheel is perfectly placed. Sitting in the luxuriously stuffed black leather

‘We’re gentlemen drivers, after all, and have big V8-engined Bristols at the ready, so let’s do it in one hit’

this motoring adventure – a quick (though gentlemanly) drive to Brussels for lunch.

The 1968 Bristol 410 you see here, finished in ‘White’ green, has recently been acquired by Pascal Maeter and is in need of a long Continental run. Sir George G Stanley White’s great grandson, George White – who goes by the name of Philip because he is the fifth ‘George’, which confused everyone – now works for Bristol Cars and brings along this 1970 Bristol 411 Series I, finished in metallic blue with its original black vinyl roof. Very period and correct. Philip has a competition Austin 7 for motoring amusement and, judging by his fresh-faced, youthful looks, is more interested in driving than eating. Ha! We haven’t yet told him what’s on the menu.

The lunch trip begins at the crack of dawn at Pascal’s garage in Chelsea. The early gloom is enlivened by the immaculate Bristol 410 reversing out into the creeping light. The 5.3-litre V8’s rumble fills the mews as condensation from the twin exhausts rises into the cool air. Philip White then arrives behind the wheel of the 411, its engine note considerably quieter.

Above and left The pale blue car is the 411, currently for sale at Bristol Cars; Coucher found the 410 felt a bit more raw – but preferred it.

The initial plan was to motor down through Belgium, have lunch, spend the night and then drive back the next day. But Brussels is not that far away so it seems a bit effete to spend two days on the trip. We’re gentlemen drivers, after all, and have big V8-engined Bristols at the ready, so let’s do it in one hit.

These cars are designed to consume distance with disdainful insouciance. Pascal’s 410 comes from the Classic Throttle Shop in Sydney, Australia. It has covered only 19,672 miles and appears to be in perfect fettle. A 460-mile round trip? No worries, mate.

It would be disingenuous of me to say that we plotted a romantic route along scenic backroads through France and Belgium. We did not. The intention was to get to lunch and back as fast as possible in these mile-eating Bristols. If we’d been in earlier, six-cylinder iterations then yes, we would have considered more classic-friendly roads. Instead we opt for the fast and open N40 motorway directly into Brussels. Sat-nav? of course not.We have the rather amply qualified Pascal for that particular task.

armchair with a good view of the walnut dashboard, I find the car is just as I expected: an involving, long-legged grand tourer. The sizable 6277cc V8 is subdued and the three-speed Torqueflite automatic transmission is a good match for all the easy 425lb ft of torque; power is quoted at 335bhp. Both are optimistic SAE figures but it certainly feels up to muster and the whole driving experience is what you might expect of a car far younger than this 411’s 44 years. In its day it was faster to 60mph and had a higher top speed than its contemporary autobahn-storming Mercedes-Benz 300SEl 6.3, then regarded as the best saloon in the world.

Spearing past Dunkerque and on towards Jabbeke we swap cars and I take the wheel of Pascal’s 410. It immediately feels more compact and that Bluemels steering wheel is fabulous. Start the smaller 5211cc V8 and it sounds like a muscle car – vocal and with a more obvious energy than the refined 411. On the move the 100kg lighter 410 is sharp and alert. It feels faster than the later car, but is actually not, as it has to make do with just 250bhp and 340lb ft of torque. But you are closer to the action with the 410. Involvement is increased.

As we hit Belgium the clear blue skies turn black and the rain comes down in torrents. The 410, with its 16in wheels shod with narrow 185 tyres, is not as secure as the 411 on 15in wheels with fatter 205-section rubber. It’s interesting to feel the evolutionary development between these two. Just four years separate them, they look

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similar even if almost every panel has been changed on the 411, but you really notice the engineering advances on the road. The 411 feels more planted and has better steering than the slightly more raw 410. But we like raw. A good thing, as it turns out later…

Arriving in the centre of Brussels, we park outside the famous Au Vieux Saint-Martin restaurant, off the Place du Grand Sablon near the Grand Palace. Proprietor Albert-Jean Niels and his son Frederic, hearing the dual V8 rumble, come out to welcome us. The landmark restaurant was founded in 1968 and they are third- and fourth-generation restaurateurs, respectively. This is becoming a family affair.

Albert-Jean owns an Aston Martin DB5, so we are in good company. They have a good look around the hot yet unflustered Bristols before we retire to the best table in the house to admire the contemporary art that adorns the walls, by such notables as Alechinsky, Bervoets, Swennen and reynhoud. The menu is discarded, as we know what we want, even if Philip White is still in the dark. There is only one thing to plump for: Au Vieux Saint-Martin’s signature dish. Filet Americain!

Grandfather Niels initially worked at the Savoy in london, founded the la royale restaurant in Brussels and then the Canterbury in 1924, where he invented the Filet Americain, a specifically created steak tartare. The recipe? Finely chopped best-quality Irish beef with the nerves carefully removed, mayonnaise, chopped piccalilli, four egg yolks, salt, pepper, genuine lee & Perrins’ Worcestershire sauce, diced onion and parsley. All served with medium-cut Belgian chips, watercress, onion, and sweet and sour cucumbers.

As we are about to eat, fellow Belgian car connoisseur, Hubert Fabri, strolls in and joins the lunch party. He asks which Bristol I prefer and I am clear: the 410. With Philip looking a bit wary – he’s never eaten raw steak before but, to his credit, he polishes off the lot – the Filet Americain is served with a flourish to the appreciative assemblage of hungry drivers. Top-quality, subtle, luxurious, hearty, tasty and raw. Much like the Bristols parked outside. End thanks to Pascal Maeter; George White, www.bristolcars.co.uk; Au-Vieux Saint-Martin, www.auvieuxsaintmartin.be; the Classic Throttle Shop, www.classicthrottleshop.com.

Above Destination achieved: Au Vieux Saint-Martin restaurant for Filet Americain, its own exclusive interpretation of steak tartare.