Bulldog

The Aston Martin Bulldog was created in 1979 as a technology demonstrator and potential basis for a limited production supercar. Designed by William Towns, who had also penned the Aston Martin Lagonda, the Bulldog featured a dramatic wedge-shaped body with a remarkably low roofline of just 1,092 mm. The car was equipped with gullwing doors, a feature that would not become widely associated with supercars until the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG decades later. Five retractable headlights were hidden behind a powered panel, and the interior featured a futuristic digital dashboard with LED displays.

Under the skin, the Bulldog was powered by a twin-turbocharged version of Aston Martin's 5.3-liter V8 engine, producing approximately 600 hp. This was mounted amidships, making the Bulldog one of the few mid-engined cars Aston Martin has ever produced. The target was to exceed 200 mph (322 km/h), which would have made it the fastest production car in the world. During testing at the MIRA proving ground in 1980, the car achieved 191 mph (307 km/h), falling short of the target partly due to the limited length of the test track rather than any fundamental limitation of the car.

The Bulldog was intended as the first of a series of 15 to 25 cars, but Aston Martin's financial difficulties in the early 1980s meant that the project never progressed beyond the single prototype. The car was sold by the factory and passed through several private collections over the following decades. In 2020, the Bulldog was acquired by collector Phillip Sarofim, who commissioned classic car restorer Richard Gauntlett (son of former Aston Martin chairman Victor Gauntlett) to restore the car and finally attempt the 200 mph run that had eluded it in 1980.

The Bulldog holds a unique place in Aston Martin's history as the most radical and forward-thinking design the company has ever produced. Its wedge-shaped form, mid-engine layout, and twin-turbo powertrain were all departures from Aston Martin convention, and its ambition to reach 200 mph anticipated the hypercar wars that would define the 1990s and beyond. As a one-off concept car with extraordinary provenance and an unfinished mission, the Bulldog is effectively priceless, though insurance valuations and the restoration project suggest a value in the range of eight to twelve million euros.