The Aston Martin Bulldog, styled by William Towns, was a one-off testbed vehicle produced by Aston Martin in 1979. Originally, it had been intended to be a limited run of about 25. The code name for the project was DP K9, named after a Doctor Who character. It was built in the UK, but is a left-hand-drive car.
It is very low at 43 inches (1.1 m) high, and sharp, distinctive Trapezium shaped design, features centre-mounted five hidden headlamps andgull-wing doors. Seats two occupants. Instrumentation was provided by the then ‘state of the art’ LED technology and touch type sensors straight out of the new Aston Martin Lagonda. The rear view is delivered via a television monitor mounted on the centre console.
The Bulldog was powered by a 5.3L twin-turbo V8 delivering 700 bhp (522 kW – other source claims 600 bhp/477 kW) maximum power and 69 kg/mm (500 ft・lb/677 Nm) maximum torque.
The first test drive of the Bulldog came in late 1979 and was a great success. The Bulldog achieved a verified top speed of 191 mph (307 km/h), but the theoretical top speed is estimated at 237 mph (381 km/h).
Many changes have been made during the 34 years that has elapsed from the cars unveiling. The silver over light grey machine in now painted in two tone metallic green, whilst the brown leather of the interior had been replaced by stone leather piped in brown. Other additions to the car include (rather bling) gold plating trim to switches and gear stick, roof mounted stereo, ugly but useful rear view mirrors and a TV showing the rear-view of the car. The Bulldog spent some time in the United States, but has recently been offered for sale in Britain. (wikipedia & astonmartins.com)
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Aston Martin Bulldog Concept in 1980
(Photos from autowp.ru, boldride.com & flickr.com)