Aston Martin Bulldog
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History
Styled by William Towns the Aston Martin Bulldog was ultimately built as a one-off testbed. 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 (UK cars are right-hand-drive). It is an incredibly low 43 inches (1.1 m) high, and featured a sharp, distinctive gull-wing door design. The interior uses digital instrumentation and the rear view is delivered via television monitor mounted on the centre console (a later addition). The Bulldog was powered by a 5.3 litre twin-turbo V8 delivering 700 bhp (522 kW).
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). The car was officially launched on March 27, 1980 at the Bell Hotel at Aston Clinton. After the development program was over Aston Martin sold the Bulldog to the highest bidder. The total design and constructions cost of the Bulldog was estimated to be about £130,000.
The Bulldog spent some time in the United States but recently surfaced in Britain, for sale and with a new green paint job (the original exterior colour was silver and light grey). The interior has also been changed from the original dark brown and black to light tan.
External links
- Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd. (http://www.astonmartin.com) - Official Company Site
- Aston Martin Picture Gallery - Bulldog (http://www.astonmartins.com/v8/bulldog.htm)