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1954 Arnolt-Bristol Bolide
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Chassis no.
404X3008
Engine no.
203BS1MKII
Coachbuilder
Bertone
Beacon
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1954
Manufacturing
1954
Chassis no. 404x3008
1954
Engine no. 203bs1mkii
Manufacturer: BRISTOL
Note: 100 BMW derived
1954
Body no. 5809
Coachbuilder: Bertone
Type: Roadster / Spider
Colour: Red
Note: Bertone body number according to The Italian Car Registry, John De Boer.
1954
Interior
Seats: Black
From 1956
to 1956
to 1956
Owner: Scott G. Baxter (US)
Famous owner: Racing driver
18th March 1956
Event: Fourth Annual Stockton Lions Club Sports Car Races - Fifth Race
Circuit: Stockton
Locality: Stockton (US)
Category / Group: Production 1400 to 3000 cc.
Class: E
Driver: Scott G. Baxter (US)
Results / Prizes: 3rd OA / 1st CL
22nd April 1956
Event: 7th Annual Pebble Beach National Championship Sports Car Road Races - Race No. 2
Locality: Del Monte Forest (US)
Number: #48
Category / Group: Production cars over 1500 cc.
Class: E
Driver: Scott G. Baxter (US)
Results / Prizes: 15th OA / 2nd CL
Laps: 15
20th May 1956
Event: 2nd Annual The Luther Burbank Rose Festival Road Races - Race Five
Circuit: Sonoma County Airport
Locality: Contea di Sonoma (US)
Number: #48
Category / Group: Production cars 1400 to 2000 cc.
Class: E
Driver: Scott G. Baxter (US)
Results / Prizes: 5th OA / 1st CL
Route: 25 miles
1st July 1956
Event: 3rd Buchanan Field Sports Car Road Races - Race No. 5
Circuit: Buchanan Field
Locality: Pleasant Hill (US)
Number: #48
Category / Group: Production Cars 1500cc - 2900cc
Class: E
Driver: Scott G. Baxter (US)
Results / Prizes: 1st CL
Laps: 15
Note: 76-Miler race. After the 10th lap, the race narrowed to three contenders. Baxter driving the field's only Arnolt Bristol, emerged as the winner after a three-way battle in the closing stages of the race.
30th September 1956
Event: 2nd Annual Sacramento Sports Car Road Races
Circuit: State Fairgrounds
Locality: Sacramento (US)
Number: #48
Category / Group: Production
Class: E5
Driver: Scott G. Baxter (US)
Results / Prizes: 10th OA
From November 1956
to 1957
to 1957
Owner: Don Hulette (US)
Famous owner: Racing driver. Film composer, producer and director.
November 1956
Plate: DWF839
Country: US
18th November 1956
Event: Paramount Ranch Road Races - Race 4
Number: #204
Category / Group: Production over 1500 cc.
Class: E
Driver: Don Hulette (US)
Results / Prizes: 4th OA
Note: Race 45 min. One lap behind the winner.
18th November 1956
Event: Paramount Ranch Road Races - Race 6
Number: #204
Category / Group: Mod. over 1500cc.
Class: E
Driver: Don Hulette (US)
Results / Prizes: 9th OA
Note: Race 90 min. Category change from Production to Modified cars.
From 19th January 1957
to 20th January 1957
to 20th January 1957
Event: 3rd Running Pomona Road Races - Preliminary
Locality: Pomona (US)
Number: #204
Category / Group: Production
Class: E
Driver: Don Hulette (US)
Results / Prizes: DNS
20th January 1957
Event: 3rd Running Pomona Road Races - Pomona Consolation Race Classes
Locality: Pomona (US)
Number: #204
Category / Group: Production
Class: E
Driver: Don Hulette (US)
Results / Prizes: 5th OA
20th January 1957
Event: 3rd Running Pomona Road Races - Sports
Locality: Pomona (US)
Number: #204
Category / Group: Production over 1500 cc.
Class: E
Driver: Don Hulette (US)
Results / Prizes: DNS
Note: Did not qualify for the race.
9th March 1957
Event: Running Paramount Ranch Sports Car Road Races - Preliminary
Locality: California, USA (US)
Number: #204
Category / Group: Production 2.0
Class: E
Driver: Don Hulette (US)
Results / Prizes: 2nd OA
10th March 1957
Event: Running Paramount Ranch Sports Car Road Races - Sports
Locality: California, USA (US)
Number: #204
Category / Group: Production 1500 to 2000 cc.
Class: E
Driver: Don Hulette (US)
Results / Prizes: 6th OA / 2nd CL
Laps: 6
October 1957
Record: The car appeared in the 1957 sports drama The Devil's Hairpin, written, directed, produced by, and starring Cornel Wilde. The film, released by Paramount Pictures, features extensive racing sequences filmed at the Paramount Ranch Raceway.
From 1958
to 1965
to 1965
Owner: James Oliver (GB)
From 1965
to 1979
to 1979
Owner: Bob Keen
From 1979
to 1999
to 1999
Owner: Bill Watkins (US)
Famous owner: American racing driver, collector and long-standing Arnolt-Bristol authority
Note: "In early 1979 I saw an advertisement for a used Arnolt Bristol at a dealership in Pasadena… The car was street legal and properly licensed, so it was a car that I could drive to work and on the twisty roads in the mountains north of our home… A few days later I bought the car, serial 404x3008 and began using it for transportation." — Bill Watkins, Personal experiences with my Bristol powered race cars, memoir written in Long Beach, California, on 29 March 2016; published by the Bristol Owners Heritage Trust, June 2019.Following his first Arnolt-Bristol, chassis 404X3006, Bill Watkins campaigned chassis 404X3008 in 28 race weekends at tracks throughout California before temporarily retiring it in favour of his third Arnolt-Bristol, chassis 404X3014.
From 20th April 1979
to 22nd April 1979
to 22nd April 1979
Event: Los Angeles Times Grand Prix Weekend - Riverside International Raceway
Number: #105
Driver: Bill Watkins (US)
Note: The grill was missing.
18th August 1979
Event: 6th Annual Monterey Historic Automobile Race
Circuit: Laguna Seca Raceway (CA, US)
Locality: Salinas (US)
Number: #170
Driver: Bill Watkins (US)
Note: The grill was missing.
27th April 1980
Event: Historic race, Riverside Raceway
Driver: Bill Watkins (US)
23rd August 1980
Event: 7th Annual Monterey Historic Automobile Races
Locality: Salinas (US)
Driver: Bill Watkins (US)
Results / Prizes: 3rd CL
1981
Event: HMSA Spring Race Riverside
Category / Group: 2
Driver: Bill Watkins (US)
Results / Prizes: DNF
Note: It retired with engine trouble caused by another failure of the BS1 crankshaft. The problem also prevented him from taking part in the Monterey Historics later that year.
1982
Event: HMSA Spring Race, Riverside Raceway
Driver: Bill Watkins (US)
Results / Prizes: 3rd CL
Note: It competed alongside sister car 404X3102, owned and driven by Chuck Breazeale.
August 1982
Event: Monterey Historic Automobile Races, Laguna Seca
Number: #185
Driver: Bill Watkins (US)
Results / Prizes: 1st CL
Note: It competed against three other Arnolt-Bristol Bolides—404X3005 (Ed Crawford), 404X3102 (Chuck Breazeale) and 404X3080 (Phil Hill)—marking the only Monterey Historics in which four Arnolt-Bristols appeared together.
From 27th August 1983
to 28th August 1983
to 28th August 1983
Event: 10th Anniversary Annual Monterey Historic Automobile Race
Circuit: Laguna Seca Raceway (CA, US)
Locality: Salinas (US)
Number: #74
Driver: Bill Watkins (US)
From 25th August 1984
to 26th August 1984
to 26th August 1984
Event: 11th Monterey Historic Automobile Races - Race 8
Locality: Salinas (US)
Number: #174
Driver: Bill Watkins (US)
From 23rd August 1985
to 25th August 1985
to 25th August 1985
Event: 12th Annual Monterey Historic Automobile races
Locality: Laguna Seca (US)
Driver: Bill Watkins (US)
From 22nd August 1986
to 24th August 1986
to 24th August 1986
Event: 13th Annual Monterey Historic Automobile Races
Number: #79
Driver: Bill Watkins (US)
Note: During the race, chassis 404X3008 and Chuck Breazeale's Arnolt-Bristol successfully avoided a spinning Porsche at the Corkscrew.
From 28th November 1986
to 30th November 1986
to 30th November 1986
Event: Palm Springs Vintage Grand Prix II
Category / Group: F/G Modified Production
Driver: Bill Watkins (US)
Results / Prizes: 2nd CL
From 29th May 1987
to 31st May 1987
to 31st May 1987
Event: HMSA Sears Point Wine Country Classic
Locality: Sears Point (US)
Driver: Bill Watkins (US)
Results / Prizes: 1st CL
From 21st August 1987
to 23rd August 1987
to 23rd August 1987
Event: 14th Annual Monterey Historic Automobile Races
Locality: Salinas (US)
Driver: Bill Watkins (US)
From 20th August 1993
to 22nd August 1993
to 22nd August 1993
Event: 20th Annual Monterey Historic Automobile Races
Circuit: Laguna Seca Raceway (CA, US)
Locality: Salinas (US)
Category / Group: 1B
Driver: Bill Watkins (US)
Results / Prizes: 5th CL
July 1994
Bibliography: De Boer John, The Italian Car Registry - John Fulton De Boer , Unknown publisher, n.p. 1994
1997
Record: The car appeared in the 1997 film James Dean: Race with Destiny, directed by Mardi Rustam.
1997
Record: The car appeared in the 1997 film James Dean: Race with Destiny, directed by Mardi Rustam.
1997
Record: The car appeared in the 1997 film James Dean: Race with Destiny, directed by Mardi Rustam.
From 14th February 1998
to 15th February 1998
to 15th February 1998
Event: Southern Festival of Speed
Locality: Dunedin (NZ)
Number: #79
Driver: Bill Watkins (US)
Note: It was selected for the month-long series because Bill Watkins intended to drive it on public roads between events.
14th February 1998
Event: Teratonga Race.
Locality: Invercargill (NZ)
Driver: Bill Watkins (US)
1998
Event: Hill climb e street race, Dunedin
Driver: Bill Watkins (US)
1998
Event: Hill climb at Queenstown
Driver: Bill Watkins (US)
1998
Event: Race at Ruapuna - Christchurch
Driver: Bill Watkins (US)
17th November 1998
Restoration: Car photos.
From 1999
to 2003
to 2003
Owner: Wayne Hanson (US)
Famous owner: American historic-racing driver and collector
Note: Wayne Hanson (San Diego, California) acquired chassis 404X3008 from Bill Watkins after more than twenty years of ownership. As Watkins recalls: "I sold the car to Wayne Hanson of San Diego." — Bill Watkins, Personal experiences with my Bristol powered race cars, memoir written in Long Beach, California, on 29 March 2016; published by the Bristol Owners Heritage Trust, June 2019.
1999
Event: 26th Monterey Historic Automobile Races
Locality: Laguna Seca (US)
Driver: Wayne Hanson (US)
From 23rd October 1999
to 24th October 1999
to 24th October 1999
Event: Classic Speed Festival
Locality: Coronado (US)
Number: #179
Category / Group: 2 - 1947 - 1955 Sports & Racing Cars
Driver: Wayne Hanson (US)
Laps: 10
May 2000
Event: Wine Country Classic Vintage Car Races
Locality: Sonoma (US)
Number: #179
From 21st October 2000
to 22nd October 2000
to 22nd October 2000
Event: Chrysler Classic Speed
Locality: Coronado (US)
Number: #179
Driver: Wayne Hanson (US)
From 17th August 2001
to 19th August 2001
to 19th August 2001
Event: 28th Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races
Locality: Monterey (US)
Number: #179
Category / Group: 3A
Driver: Wayne Hanson (US)
Laps: 10
From 2003
to November 2016
to November 2016
Owner: Karl Gnadinger (CH)
Note: Historic-car collector and broker.
2005
Bibliography: Art Evans, Pebble Beach Remembered , Photo Data Research, n.p. 2005
18th June 2005
Event: Coronado Classic Speed Festival
Locality: Coronado (US)
Number: #179
Driver: Wayne Hanson (US)
20th May 2011
Record: Repair Order by Grand Prix Classic.
30th June 2011
Restoration: Photo of the resurfaced cylinder head, with the damaged area fully repaired.
1st September 2011
Identification document: California Vehicle registration card by California DMW.
7th November 2011
Identification document: UK Customs Import Clearance Certificate by HM Revenue & Customs.
8th November 2011
Identification document: Car condition report by Classic Auromorive Relocation Services.
From November 2016
to February 2026
to February 2026
Owner: Ivo Noteboom (NL)
Famous owner: Dutch collector and historic racing driver
29th November 2016
Identification document: FIVA Identify card n.063078; Categorized A3; ASN that issued the certificate Federatie Historische Automobiel - en Motorfietsclubs; Owner'country Netherlands.
21st December 2016
Record: Automotive polishing and restoration invoice by Classic & Exclusive.
18th May 2017
Event: SKGS Rally
Locality: (NL)
Driver: Ivo Noteboom (NL)
16th November 2017
Record: Steering Wheel Components credit note by Holden Vintage & Classic.
From April 2024
to March 2026
to March 2026
Plate: DZ2442
Country: NL
From 13th April 2024
to 14th April 2024
to 14th April 2024
Event: 81st Goodwood Members Meeting
Circuit: Goodwood Motor Circuit
Locality: Chichester (GB)
Number: #48
Category / Group: Peter Collins Trophy
Driver: Ivo Noteboom (NL)
28th May 2024
Record: Goodwood race support and transportation invoice by Tachyon Motorsport.
31st December 2024
Record: Speed centre testing and service invoice by Tachyon.
From 4th February 2025
to 9th February 2025
to 9th February 2025
Event: Retromobile
Locality: Parigi (FR)
Note: Car displayed at Galley Aaldering Stand.
4th March 2025
Record: Silverstone Classic preparation and parts invoice by Tachyon Motorsport.
30th April 2025
Record: Silverstone Classic race support and transportation invoice by Tachyon Motorsport.
From February 2026
to currently
to currently
Owner: COLLEZIONE IL MANEGGIO (CH)
Famous owner:
Private Swiss car collection
March 2026
Plate: ZH71943
Country: CH
3rd August 2026
Record: Car photos.
4th August 2026
Identification document: Automotive Masterpieces declaration AU-18011 car officially counted among the Automotive Masterpieces in its eligible categories.
4th August 2026
Identification document: Rina Certificate N. RAM-64 for the historical research conducted on the car through a validation process of its proven historicity and provenance by Automotive Masterpieces
12th August 2026
Event: Zug Classic Car Award Concours d'Elegance
Locality: Zugo (CH)
Results / Prizes: 2nd OA
12th August 2026
Event: Drive on
Locality: (CH)
4th September 2026
Record: Photoshooting.
