Aston Martin Bulldog
Reviewed by Unique Cars and Parts
Our Rating: 5
Introduction
It would take until
1978 for Aston Martin to genuinely register a positive company result since its inception by Robert Bamford and Lionel Martin in 1913. Much had changed during the intervening years, including the amalgamation of Lagonda in 1947 under the leadership of David Brown.
But by
1978 the future of the marque looked much better than it ever had, and so Company Director Alan Curtis gave the green light for the construction of a
prototype – a car that would serve as a symbol of the marques quest to look to the future and demonstrate innovation like no other.
A grandiose plan indeed, one that would take two years from conception to production, and one that would create arguably the ugliest Aston of all time, the aptly named “Bulldog”. The design was the work of stylist William Towns, who had penned all Astons sine the wonderful DB6; and the Bulldog was not without innovation, it being the first ever mid-engined Aston.
The car bore a strong resemblance to the
1976 Lagonda, but featured even flatter and squared-off angles. The Bulldog was powered by the wonderful Aston Martin V8, with additional
turbo-compressors supplied by Garrett.
Aston would never reveal the cars actual power output, but it is rumoured to have developed 600bhp at 6500rpm, and been good for a top speed of over 325 km/h.
Naturally Astons reluctance to release official power figures started the rumour mill working, a common thought being that the development was only undertaken after the project was underwritten by a wealth Sheik from the Middle East.
Apparently the Sheik never took delivery, it being sold to another wealthy businessman in the Emirates. Whoever he is, he remains the lucky owner of the only Bulldog to have ever been built!
