Broken Dreams: Aston Martin Bulldog. Ambition Fulfilled

Naming a car designed to break a speed record Bulldog is an odd choice, considering bulldogs are clumsy and slow. In the late 1970s, Aston Martin, struggling through a difficult period, decided to make a bold move: to exceed the top speed of its direct competitors—the Ferrari 512BB and Lamborghini Countach — by breaking the 200 mph (322 km/h) barrier.

The Bulldog’s advanced twin-turbo mid-rear engine moved the driver’s position forward, creating an almost perfect symmetry between front and rear.

To achieve this, they designed the Bulldog, powered by Aston Martin’s first-ever turbocharged engine: a 5.3-liter V8 with twin Garrett AirResearch turbochargers, centrally mounted. Stylistically, the car followed the design trends of the time, which resulted in its distinctive wedge shape. It also featured an innovative fairing that concealed five center-mounted headlamps and had electrically operated gull-wing doors.

The work of designer William Towns and then-chief engineer Mike Loasby resulted in a very clean and simple car, in line with the period’s design trends.

However, the promise of surpassing 200 mph proved too ambitious. The Bulldog reached a top speed of 191 mph (307 km/h), falling short of its target. This moral defeat damaged the brand’s credibility and led to the departure of both William Towns and Mike Loasby from Aston Martin. As a result, plans for a limited production run of the Bulldog were abandoned, leaving it as a one-off model.

The large gull-wing doors, too heavy to lift manually, were electrically operated.

More than 40 years later, collector Philip Sarofim, the car’s current owner, entrusted professional driver Darren Turner with the task of finally achieving what had once seemed impossible. After an 18-month restoration by Classic Motor Cars, the one and only Bulldog finally broke the elusive 200 mph (322 km/h) barrier, reaching 331 km/h. This new record was set at Machrihanish Airfield in Scotland in June 2023. The car had already claimed victory at the prestigious Coppa d’Oro at Villa d’Este in 2022.

The Bulldog won the Coppa d’Oro at Villa d’Este in 2022 after restoration. A year later, it finally broke the 200 mph barrier in Scotland.