Aston Martin’s Bulldog was One Awesome ’80s Wedge Concept Car
Bulldog concept never got the green-light from Aston Martin. Now it is undergoing restoration to chase a 200 mile per hour benchmark.
The early 80’s were an interesting time in the auto industry. After a long dry-spell of performance cars through the oil crisis and rudimentary emissions control systems, performance cars started to make a comeback. Aston Martin wanted to prove that they were an under-rated, but top-end marquis. They came out with the striking Lagonda and were on the cusp of developing the Bulldog.
The Bulldog was Aston Martin’s attempt at flexing their muscle. The goal? The magical 200 miles per hour mark. According to AstonMartins.com, the mid-engined Bulldog used a 5.3 liter V8 supported by two turbochargers. Power estimates were around 650hp, and this meant it should have been able to reach its theoretical top speed in excess of 210 miles per hour.
Williams Towns took care of the styling, having just penned the Lagonda. In theory, the car should have easily breached the 200 miles per hour mark. However, in real testing at MIRA, it fell just short at 191mph. More testing and development would have taken place, but Victor Gauntlett took the reins of Aston Martin, and quickly put a stop to the program.
And now, Classic Motor Cars, of Bridgnorth, England is set to bring the car back to its glory. Over the next year and a half, CMC will be doing a full restoration of the car. The restoration has a secondary aim of finally letting this dog off its leash and attaining 200 miles per hour.
This 40-year-old ride won’t be the most simple of restorations, though. It is possible that almost no components on the car currently function, and there’s a possibility that some parts will need custom fabrication. Managing director of CMC, Nigel Woodward, has stated: “We have a huge history file on the car and are working with the engineers who originally built the car, but there is much more we would like to know.”
If it had seen production, the Bulldog would have been the first production car to breach 200 miles per hour, adding to its historical significance. The official first car to do so, the Ferrari F40, wouldn’t reach that mark till 1987.
Join the Team Speed forums now!
