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Bristol Cars the long established an quintessential car maker is looking at a bill of up to £300,000 as it has lost a High Court battle over a classic 1954 vehicle bought by a man as a birthday present to himself. Unfortunately for them he is a Lawyer.

Andrew Olins bought his Bristol 405D after “falling in love” with the classic model. it was one of only 43 ever built.

Mr Olins agreed to pay £20,000 for the car, and commissioned Bristol to make a number of modifications and turn it into a drop head coupé. the court heard in 2011 that he agreed to pay £153,000 for the works. But after nine months the Bristol said it could not do the conversion.They later admitted losing staff who held vital technical knowledge when Bristol, who hand-builds its cars, went into administration in 2011, the judge heard. The company was taken over by Kamkorp but lost 22 jobs before it was saved.

Mr Olins, of Pinner, said: “It is quite rare to find a 405D. I saw one with a cream exterior and ox blood red leather interior in Piccadilly when I was 18 and fell in love with it.

“At the time I thought to myself, if I could ever afford it, this was a car I would wish to drive.”

But he ended up suing Bristol In March last year for breach of contract. Bristol claimed no contract was signed and the £153,000 was only an estimate because of the unpredictability of restoring vintage cars.

It said there had been a “fundamental shared mistake”, as it would have been impossible to have converted the car to automatic transmission, as Mr Olins had wished. However, Judge Richard Seymour QC has now ruled in favour of the lawyer.

The judge said: “The defendant's case that there was no agreed price, or agreed maximum, is wholly unsustainable.” He added that Bristol had “agreed to adapt the automatic gearbox to suit this engine and match the transmission points as required.” Outside court, Mr Olins said: “I have been shabbily treated. I paid £50,000 upfront.”

He is seeking between £200,000 and £300,000. A hearing to assess damages will be held in the New Year. It is understood Bristol Cars will be contesting the level of damages very vigorously.

The firm is the last descendant of Bristol Aeroplane Company, which once employed more than 50,000 people. It has only one showroom but has maintained a loyal customer base.