45 years after the Aston Martin Bulldog was born it finally hit 200mph, here's how
- Aston Martin built the Bulldog to reach 200 mph, but failed
- Aston wasn’t doing well back then, so they only made one
- 45 years later, the restored concept managed to finally hit 200 mph
Published on Aug 05, 2024 at 6:30 PM (UTC+4)
by Alessandro Renesis
Last updated on Aug 12, 2024 at 6:57 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
A 1979 Aston Martin Bulldog finally reached 200 mph (322 km/h).
This wouldn’t be ground-breaking news, per se, were it not for the fact that the Bulldog was designed precisely for that all those years ago, but it always came short.
Now, 45 years later, it finally fulfilled its original mission.
Better late than never.
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The Bulldog was launched in 1979 with an ambitious goal.
The idea was to reach 200 mph which, back then, wasn’t business as usual in the automotive industry.
A failed mission
Aston built the Bulldog with an impossible target in mind.
Back then, the company wanted to reach 237 mph.
They quickly realized it was never going to happen, so they revised their plan and moved the goalpost to 200 mph.
But that still wasn’t enough, as the best it could do was 191 mph (307 km/h), and Aston wasn’t doing well at all, financially, so they simply gave up.
A 45-year-old collector’s item
The UK company in charge of the restoration, Classic Motor Cars Unlimited, borrowed the only Bulldog in existence from the American collector who owns it.
The car was in good condition, but not perfect, and it needed some work.
It took them a while, ‘thousands of hours’ in their own words, but they finally did it.
In 2023, after restoring the car, they reached 205.4 mph, or 330.5 km/h.
In part, the fact that this car had to be restored is the reason why they finally managed to set the record.
Because so many of the original components were unavailable, they had to ‘make do’ with modern ones which, 45 years later, are, well, better.
An unusual Aston
The Bulldog doesn’t look like any other Aston in the world.
It looks like a wild blend of a Cybertruck and the DeLorean.
It was characterized by the iconic ‘wedge’ shape that was pretty much omnipresent in the 1970s and 1980s, and it has gullwing doors – check out the Honda HP-X, for example
The engine, located right behind the seats, is a 5.3-liter V8 with two turbochargers.
For a car built in the 1970s, it is quite heavy, tipping the scales at over 1,700 kg.
It puts out 600 horsepower and 500 lb-ft of torque and, finally, we can say it has a top speed north of 200 mph.
Alessandro is an automotive journalist with 10 years of experience covering supercars, automotive history, emerging vehicle technology, and luxury transportation. He wrote the first article published on SupercarBlondie.com when the website launched in 2022 and has since built a reputation for insightful reporting across the automotive and transportation industries. His expertise is grounded in hands-on experience. Alessandro has driven every Tesla model ever produced, from the original Roadster to the Cybertruck, and regularly covers the latest developments in electric vehicles and automotive innovation. His passion for transportation extends beyond cars, he has even flown a Boeing 787 Dreamliner simulator in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. His reporting spans everything from classic American muscle cars and rare automotive discoveries to luxury yachts, private aircraft, high-end watches, and cutting-edge vehicle technology. Known for his deep knowledge of automotive history and ability to uncover the stories behind iconic vehicles, Alessandro brings readers a blend of historical context, technical expertise, and first-hand experience.
