In late 1952 Bristol made the surprise announcement that the car was to be redesigned as a two-seat sports car, for entry into the following year's Le Mans race. Over the following few months the G-type was comprehensively redesigned and rebuilt by Bristol's new motor sport department, with the design team led by David Summers. The chassis itself was founded on twin, oval-section rails running the length of the car, which were changed to simple circular-section members for the Bristol. To these, the G-Type's double wishbone front and de Dion tube rear suspension were attached. The wheelbase was relatively long at 8 ft 1¼ in (247 cm), especially considering the car's narrow track of 4 ft 3 in (130 cm). Inboard brakes at the rear and an innovative hub/rim arrangement reduced unsprung weight. These innovative wheels consisted of a large hub spider – through which driveshafts could be switched without needing to remove the wheels and brakes – to which a wheel consisting of little more than a rim was attached. For the 1955 Le Mans race, to save further time during pit stops, Bristol developed an equally innovative multi-barreled, powered spanner, which could remove all five wheel nuts simultaneously. In much the same way as for modern Formula One wheel changes, the spanner would then retain the wheel nuts and allow precise reattachment of the new wheel to the car, applying the correct amount of torque to each nut.