aston martin bulldog

Back to the future: The Aston Martin Bulldog. Image via Twitter @crankandpiston

Reverse 40 years: Aston Martin Bulldog to take another bite at 200mph [watch]

Aston Martin, like the legendary English Bulldog, just simply won’t let go – even decades after taking the first bite.

aston martin bulldog

Back to the future: The Aston Martin Bulldog. Image via Twitter @crankandpiston

The supercar promised to be the vehicle of the future until the project came to an abrupt halt in 1981. Now, 40 years later, Aston Martin factory driver Darren Turner will attempt ‘the record that never was’.

Turner is to attempt 200mph (about 321km/h) in the head-turning Aston Martin Bulldog concept car – four decades after the same feat was first attempted by Keith Martin.

aston martin bulldog
Image via Twitter @crankandpiston

Bulldog’s trailblazing numbers

The Aston Martin Bulldog, styled by chief designer William Towns who also conceived the wedge-shaped Lagonda saloon in 1975, is a one-off concept created in 1980.

The gull-winged supercar is reminiscent of the DeLorean DMC-12 from the Back to the Future films, although the DeLorean only arrived later on the scene.

The Bulldog features a 5.3-litre twin-turbocharged V-8 delivering somewhere between 447 and 521 kW, formidable numbers for the time.

Watch: The beginnings of the Bulldog and its restoration

Aston’s ambitious aspirations

Aston Martin hoped that the car would be capable of 237mph making it the fastest production car of its time. But by late 1980, Aston Martin was facing financial challenges and when Victor Gauntlett took the helm in 1981, limited funds meant the British automaker only made one attempt at setting a top speed record with the Bulldog.

In 1981, testing and development were curtailed with the supercar tantalisingly close to its design performance, having achieved 191 miles (307km) per hour at MIRA, before disappearing into the private collection of Saudi prince Muhammed bin Saud.

The Saudi prince bought the Bulldog for what is believed to be around £130,000 (About R2.7 million) — a price that covered virtually all the development costs.

aston martin bulldog
The ‘coolest’ high-tech in the Aston Martin Bulldog… Image: Supplied

18-month nut and bolt restoration

It would return to the UK in private ownership in the 1990s and last year its owner handed the famous car to Classic Motor Cars in Bridgnorth, Shropshire, to carry out an 18-month nut and bolt restoration. Following this, the owner plans to run the car at over 200mph and then take it on a world tour.

Overseeing the restoration, on behalf of the owner, is Richard Gauntlett, Victor’s son who grew up with the car and his father’s ambition of it becoming the fastest production car ever developed.

Aston Martin Bulldog
Under the Aston Martin Bulldog’s hood. Image: Supplied

Richard said: “The car is well on the way to being restored and CMC will have it running by the end of the year. We will then attempt the record that never was.

“A critical part of this was finding the right driver for the job and someone that could get involved in overseeing the final elements of the project, in terms of set up and testing.”

He added: “I am delighted that Darren Turner who has been an Aston Martin works and high-performance development driver for more than 15 years has agreed to join the team.”

Darren Turner: ‘I didn’t need to be asked twice’

Darren Turner Aston Martin
British professional racing driver Darren Turner currently racing for Aston Martin Racing as a factory driver. Image: Newspress UK

Turner said: “I had heard of the legend of Bulldog from within Aston Martin and when news started to filter out about the car being restored to go for the 200mph target, I thought that was such a cool thing to do.

“I was following the story and thinking that it would be great to be involved. When I was asked to drive it I didn’t need to be asked twice!”

He added: “I really appreciate being asked and I’m looking forward to becoming part of the story of bringing Bulldog back to life and finally achieving what it set out to achieve all those years ago.”

Aston Martin Bulldog
Image via Twitter @crankandpiston

The date and venue of the new record attempt have not yet been announced.

Compiled by Shaun Gillham