I remember as an 8 year old boy seeing the Bulldog at the 1980 Birmingham Motor Show. I could barely contain my excitement at seeing it in the flesh. Amazing car.
it must be a British thing, wanting to contain excitement. being excited is a good thing , no need to suppress and subdue it, next time just simply go for it mate !
... who would possibly have sketched up something in a Mor(e)gan 3 wheelish manner .. if had been asked to wear his own favourite suit and pocket square . 😉🌹
The stuttering opening and closing of the gull-wing doors, the five headlight setup, the digital dashboard (from the Lagonda I presume), the sheer size... At first I thought it was a 1970s science fiction movie prop, I love its quirkiness. Then again, I love to drive quirky cars (Matra Murena, Volvo 480)
And yet it still had a a drag coefficient of 0.34, compared to the 0.23 of today's sedan cars it is obvious the wedge shape was not the epitome of slippery cars.
@@abrahkadabra9501 Even 40 years ago it was quite obvious that the wedge was not the best way to go to achieve low drag, the 1921 Rumpler Tropfenwagen had a drag of only 0.28 and the Hotchkiss Gregoire of 1951 had a drag of only 0.26, the 1970 Citroën GS had a drag of 0.31, none of these cars were wedge shaped and they are all years older than the Aston in the video and had lower drag. The wedge was more just a craze and a lot of manufacturers jumped onto the wagon just to be in and not because it was the best shape at that time. "technological and engineering advancements" already showed us more than 40 years ago the wedge is not the way to go.
For 1979 this was years ahead of its time and obviously well made, although the door bounce when they reach the end of their travel is slightly surprising given the brand and cost! All that said, I'd still happily drive one today, I just love its sharp square lines. *Thank you Thames TV for these longer videos, very enjoyable!*
this i not an electric car... and Tesla had nothing to do with it, this was ment as a hint to future super car developement, not including electric motors. And Mr.Musk was just a kid when this was done.
Aston Martin planned to build 15-25 Bulldogs, but in 1981 Victor Gauntlett became chairman of Aston Martin and decided the project would be too costly, and the Bulldog project was shelved.
Not strictly true, the owner of Astons planned to do one 'special' car per year. It never materialised. I worked at Newport astons and with people who actually built the bulldog.
James Bond told me personally that he used this car in one of his secret missions but destroyed it. Q did not talk to him for a full 3 months after that.
@@Stormy177 Can't let stress get to you on the job or you end up being resentful and bitter all the time. Look at Bond, people always try to ruin his day (and his life) but a Vodka Martini, shaken, not stirred and the world is right as rain again. The intense workouts fighting for your life and the recreational sex with the world's most beautiful women must help with releasing those endorphins I suppose.
nice tribute to William Towns design genious who also gave us the A.M Lagonda yet left early from this life taking his design masterpieces to another shpere that they belong
All design cues of this car also appear in the Aston Martin Lagonda. Same wedge shape and immensely long. It was all about wedges back then. It also seems to use the same rear brake lamps! I didn't realize tell now, but the Lagonda (series 2) was manufactured between 1976-1990. This design is from 1979, I wonder how much of the Bulldog features got rolled into later models of Aston Martin.
Jep. I want this car. Or the car from Ghost in the shell, which is a lotus espirit. I love that 80's style but then modern EV with high performance. :D
I now see the inspiration for the latest Lagonda autonomous EV shown at Geneva. On a sidenoe, there's something about that THAMES logo that freaks the hell out of me!
@@andrewjenery1783 The Aston 5.3 litre V8 had enormous tuning potential. I can't remember their name, but I do recall reading an article in a British car magazine featuring a British Engineering company who specialised in bespoke 'one offs' producing a customer commissioned, modified Aston Martin Virage featuring an 1100 bhp, 1100 lbs/ft supercharged engine. The underneath of the car had steel plating to totally enclose the propshaft and differential...in case of a catastrophic failure. Just imagine a propshaft with that amount of torque running through it snapping...it would literally catapult the car into the air. It must have had absolutely monumental performance. I wonder if the car still exists, and Who owns it.
nah Giugario already had the Delorean shape penned several years earlier with the Maserati Medici concepts, basically the Delorean was the cut-down version which reskinned a Lotus Esprit. cardesignnews.com/articles/concept-car-of-the-week/2017/06/maserati-medici-i-ii-1974-76
There is so much more to the full itenary and story of this car when it was in the US …..today, it is being fully restored in the UK, owned by an American. Hopefully, one day, the full story with its secrets and bizarre adventures, it’s fascinating dealings…..will be told…….can’t wait.
That is a gorgeous-looking car! Who wants pop-up headlights when you can have a drop-down headlight cover to reveal five headlights? Wouldn't want to try taking it into a multi-storey car park though... 😂
Austin Princess could have taken some more design cues from the Aston Martin Bulldog. The drawing towards the end of the video could from a certain perspective look like a people carrier.
When wedges were in lol. I do remember this car, I was 11 years old at the time & it just blew me away with it's styling. Never went any further than a prototype unfortunately :-(
with those head lamps so deep into the body, how would someone see them properly or at least knmow they were seing a car if they were traveling down a main wooded road at night and he was parked on a sliproad waiting for the other car to pass?
The only 'futurist' car design from the 80s that still looks balanced today. Even the interior doesn't look that outdated
What about the DeLorean..?
I remember as an 8 year old boy seeing the Bulldog at the 1980 Birmingham Motor Show. I could barely contain my excitement at seeing it in the flesh. Amazing car.
I remember going to the motor show when the jaguar xj220 was the star.
it must be a British thing, wanting to contain excitement. being excited is a good thing , no need to suppress and subdue it, next time just simply go for it mate !
@@CHUUMPASS Many british things push out the imagination boundry...
40 years later Tesla saw that video and made the Cybertruck
That's exactly what I was thinking about well done for understanding the concept of modern
All the sports cars looked like that 40 years ago.
THE CYBERTRUCK LOOKS MORE STABLE THAN THIS CAR. IT'S LEANING JUST GOING AROUND THE DRIVEWAY.
Yeah, looks very similar.
@@orangewarm1 *Supercars
I remember seeing this as a kid in car magazines and being very excited. I don't care that other people don't like it, I just love it. Thanks.
When your early-80s CAD software can't render curves
I thought the same.
This was designed on a 286 with Autocad 2.16 for DOS.
@@dbranconnier1977 286 came 5 years later
I was just joking about the 286. They probably used some kind of CAD on a DEC VAX or PDP-11.
Me With no modesty I make better schetch but for God Sake Human compose this beautiful neat sport car.
This must be a star of a carshow at that time. The design was sleek, loaded with some futuristic features. That clean hood is a beauty of simplicity
I could swear the designer was played by Peter Sellers...
Warrington Minge?
Do you have any headrhoom?
... who would possibly have sketched up something in a Mor(e)gan 3 wheelish manner .. if had been asked to wear his own favourite suit and pocket square . 😉🌹
Dr Strangelove
The stuttering opening and closing of the gull-wing doors, the five headlight setup, the digital dashboard (from the Lagonda I presume), the sheer size... At first I thought it was a 1970s science fiction movie prop, I love its quirkiness. Then again, I love to drive quirky cars (Matra Murena, Volvo 480)
A very well-spoken gentleman engineer. People don't seem to speak like that anymore.
It's called class
Williams Towns is an integral part of the Aston Martin Legend... The Bulldog is an amazing car !
This car is the ultimate expression of the 1970's obsession with making cars look like "wedges".
And yet it still had a a drag coefficient of 0.34, compared to the 0.23 of today's sedan cars it is obvious the wedge shape was not the epitome of slippery cars.
It did look cool though
@@MrGoogelaar 40 years of technological and engineering advancements tends to do that...some would say it's inevitable.
@@abrahkadabra9501 Even 40 years ago it was quite obvious that the wedge was not the best way to go to achieve low drag, the 1921 Rumpler Tropfenwagen had a drag of only 0.28 and the Hotchkiss Gregoire of 1951 had a drag of only 0.26, the 1970 Citroën GS had a drag of 0.31, none of these cars were wedge shaped and they are all years older than the Aston in the video and had lower drag. The wedge was more just a craze and a lot of manufacturers jumped onto the wagon just to be in and not because it was the best shape at that time. "technological and engineering advancements" already showed us more than 40 years ago the wedge is not the way to go.
It looks like an Austin Princess left in the sun too long!
Must have been hard for Williams drawing board & ruler when he got the the wheels! Thanks for another great upload Thames TV! 📺
For 1979 this was years ahead of its time and obviously well made, although the door bounce when they reach the end of their travel is slightly surprising given the brand and cost! All that said, I'd still happily drive one today, I just love its sharp square lines. *Thank you Thames TV for these longer videos, very enjoyable!*
Jake Hall Quite simply because the Countach couldn’t touch it performance wise and was not technically advanced at all!
@@paulfitzgerald7513 That told the wanker. 😀😀👍👍
stringer 2295 🤣
Again, a far more interesting 'review' than most of the hysterical youtube stuff generated.
A certain weirdo calling himself @Schmee150 comes to a mind...
And this is how in 2019 Tesla invented the Cybertruck..
Carpe Diem deadass
EXACTLY!!!!!!!
Cybertruck is way more Ugly as heck
this i not an electric car... and Tesla had nothing to do with it, this was ment as a hint to future super car developement, not including electric motors. And Mr.Musk was just a kid when this was done.
Simple, yet so striking.
I love look of this concept car.
I hadn't heard of this car until very recently, just fantastic, a shame it was never properly realised.
XJS based sketch on 4:00 is the best! The proportion of this wheelbase is perfect for great cars, like the Aston Martin DB7 for instant.
I like the TR7 reskin as well, far more than the production model
Tony's presentation is absolutely superb
He is gifted
Directed here after seeing the bulldog at Concorse 2021. Amazing to have electric doors back in the day… wow.
sounds like a jcb excavator in operation when the motor runs
Great design - love the headlight arrangement !!
Fantastic vid,,big Thanx to the uploader,,,so much good stuff back then,,,I loved the 70s Lagonda,,,,good old days,,,
Design Genius....imo the DBS and AM V8,is the best looking car ever....perfect.
Fascinating insight into the designer of the Lagonda!
The steering wheel was on point for future cars. It looked like it could house an airbag.
Geez they loved their angles in the 70s.
When asked to quickly draw the proposed new sports car/new MG, William Lyons sketch looks a lot like the TR7 which they both appeared to mock earlier.
That 25 gallon tank would cost about £136 today to fill.
Ship it across the pond, cheaper here $ 2.34 x 25 = $58.5
Costs £30 to fill my motorbike these days.
@@Scalihoo Yes! However American gallons are slightly smaller than English ones. For some reason!
I mean if you can buy the car you can afford the gas
@@scottwheeler1641 I want to know what reason. Im Dutch.
Inspired by Dangermouse's car
Dangermouse arrived a year after the Bulldog - so I'd say the Bulldog inspired the Dangermouse car.
Wow! They should have made a production version. Looks great 40 years on
not sure about that w126 looks great after 30+ years this a bit ...
The Cyber truck when it was young.
Andre Coleman Exactly!!!
That designer is a right barrel of laughs isn't he!
To be fair, Bastable said his drawing looked like a TR7.
TherymasterWidnes the posh version of Lennie Bennett
Aston Martin planned to build 15-25 Bulldogs, but in 1981 Victor Gauntlett became chairman of Aston Martin and decided the project would be too costly, and the Bulldog project was shelved.
What a pity
Not strictly true, the owner of Astons planned to do one 'special' car per year. It never materialised. I worked at Newport astons and with people who actually built the bulldog.
James Bond told me personally that he used this car in one of his secret missions but destroyed it. Q did not talk to him for a full 3 months after that.
@@abrahkadabra9501 Lol! Q was far more forgiving than I would have been!
@@Stormy177 Can't let stress get to you on the job or you end up being resentful and bitter all the time. Look at Bond, people always try to ruin his day (and his life) but a Vodka Martini, shaken, not stirred and the world is right as rain again. The intense workouts fighting for your life and the recreational sex with the world's most beautiful women must help with releasing those endorphins I suppose.
William looks an awfully lot like Dr. Stangelove here.
Mein President we must be concerned about the threat of a panel gap
@@BillCarrIpswich Genius..And not a mad one either..
nice tribute to William Towns design genious who also gave us the A.M Lagonda
yet left early from this life taking his design masterpieces to another shpere that they belong
Now a lotus esprit with electric gullwing doors would Be cool.
Interesting fellow. Just checked out the history of William Towns..
Once again Tony”s passive aggressive presentation style let loose on the poshest man ever to work in the car industry Tony Hart I mean William Towns!
The avant-garde car.
Superb.
Esoteric.
Love it.
All design cues of this car also appear in the Aston Martin Lagonda. Same wedge shape and immensely long. It was all about wedges back then. It also seems to use the same rear brake lamps! I didn't realize tell now, but the Lagonda (series 2) was manufactured between 1976-1990. This design is from 1979, I wonder how much of the Bulldog features got rolled into later models of Aston Martin.
he seems a nice man
Tony Bastable trying to catch William Towns out by asking him to draw a car without a ruler.
He might have tried his best,to stop it looking like a express train. Though I bet it has a similar turning circle.
Now I know where musk stole his idea for the cybertruck
anyone here after Tesla's Cybertruck review?....
Jep. I want this car. Or the car from Ghost in the shell, which is a lotus espirit. I love that 80's style but then modern EV with high performance. :D
Times were simpler those days when 0-62mph 5.1 was shattering
The Danger Mouse auto. Not going to lie, looks sharp and ahead of its time.
My favourite top trump!
This and the Panther Six!
wow still looks fantastic!
Fascinating and very interesting.
Thunderbirds are go!
I now see the inspiration for the latest Lagonda autonomous EV shown at Geneva. On a sidenoe, there's something about that THAMES logo that freaks the hell out of me!
God, I'm old enough to remember when this car was revealed and the furore it caused. Wm Towns also designed the mini metro, if i'm not mistaken.
I love everything about this.
Looks incredible.
Didn't know it existed until now and never seen one first hand. Amazing car.
It never existed. Too expensive to build so it ended up a one off.
@@4jp The one off existed though.
It had a twin turbo 5.3 litre V8 producing around 550 bhp
@@kevinmanns7170 Nice spec. Wouldn't have looked out of place in any Bond movie.
@@andrewjenery1783
The Aston 5.3 litre V8 had enormous tuning potential. I can't remember their name, but I do recall reading an article in a British car magazine featuring a British Engineering company who specialised in bespoke 'one offs' producing a customer commissioned, modified Aston Martin Virage featuring an 1100 bhp, 1100 lbs/ft supercharged engine. The underneath of the car had steel plating to totally enclose the propshaft and differential...in case of a catastrophic failure. Just imagine a propshaft with that amount of torque running through it snapping...it would literally catapult the car into the air. It must have had absolutely monumental performance. I wonder if the car still exists, and Who owns it.
I would love to have seen a combination of the Aston Martin Bulldog and the DeLorean DMC-12
Who is here after the reveal of the Tesla Cybertruck? I feel like I'm the only one lol
Me
@@Sd-zy6vo Wow, I really thought I was the only one
I remember this car.
I still like the electric power truck myself ...
You're not alone.
Elon Musk hits blunt while watching random youtube videos... "I have the BEST idea...!"
William towns also styled the Hillman Hunter family of cars in the early 60s
DMC must have been watching this...
nah Giugario already had the Delorean shape penned several years earlier with the Maserati Medici concepts, basically the Delorean was the cut-down version which reskinned a Lotus Esprit. cardesignnews.com/articles/concept-car-of-the-week/2017/06/maserati-medici-i-ii-1974-76
I remember seeing this in a Cool Car Trading Card set when I was young....
I always thought, is this thing coming?...or going?
There is so much more to the full itenary and story of this car when it was in the US …..today, it is being fully restored in the UK, owned by an American. Hopefully, one day, the full story with its secrets and bizarre adventures, it’s fascinating dealings…..will be told…….can’t wait.
RIP William Towns
the top view explains the rest of the design moves
remember Citroen Karin concept
Drove past the Minissima on the way in!
Modified XJS sketch looked good. Low hood and short front overhang.
That is a gorgeous-looking car! Who wants pop-up headlights when you can have a drop-down headlight cover to reveal five headlights?
Wouldn't want to try taking it into a multi-storey car park though... 😂
I didn't realise how long it was looking at the video of it side on
Here after it finally hit 200 mph as it was always meant to. In fact, it exceeded it by 5 mph, reaching 205 mph.
The date on the screen says 1980 not 1979 ??? - which one is right Thames?
Looks like an Atari videogame car
Did anybody ever verify the performance claims of this thing ?
Is it still around today anywhere?
It's just resurfaced!
Looks like disproportioned Lotus Esprit
He does a bit!
Yes, the esprit was amazing, but the front does look similar
My name is William Towns and I have perfected the art of speaking through my nose.
In 1979, the new MG probably turned out to be a metro!
6:12 clean, straightforward and neat... and off the page 😂
"When I told my insurance broker what the top speed was, he fainted right away."
If the rear end was a couple inches longer that would be the coolest stationwagon ever made !
Austin Princess could have taken some more design cues from the Aston Martin Bulldog.
The drawing towards the end of the video could from a certain perspective look like a people carrier.
William Towns, the designer, left Aston Martin and created his own design studio. He died 12 years after this interview from cancer.
Yeah, but do they do a pickup?
If it came out today, it would still look futuristic.
..and if it had toyota corolla 4 cylinder engines we' d still be seeing it on the roads today!!
Why is this filmed at Blenheim palace?
Looks like something that KITT would do battle against in an episode of Knight Rider
The naming department got upgraded since ;-)
When wedges were in lol. I do remember this car, I was 11 years old at the time & it just blew me away with it's styling. Never went any further than a prototype unfortunately :-(
this is not an italian boat... but it could be a bond agent
Is this where Tesla got the idea for their Cyber truck concept?
Aveva 43 anni il grande Towns.
I want one!!
When you see the gorgeous Aston’s now, it is hard to believe they even considered horrendous things like this
not really - this is far more distinctive than their current stuff to my eyes
Well your father married your mother. Or did he.???
2:18 lagonda taillights
1:45 Lagonda dashboard. I think much of the design was taken from a Lagonda.
I can remember it on Blue Peter at the time
with those head lamps so deep into the body, how would someone see them properly or at least knmow they were seing a car if they were traveling down a main wooded road at night and he was parked on a sliproad waiting for the other car to pass?
Immediately think of Benny Hill with that Thames intro.
As of 2021 now fully restored
That hum! 0:49"
If only Doc Brown had built his time machine out of one of these instead of a shitty De Lorean.
William Towns is the spitting image of Sozar's bodyguard in Scarface lol
Love this