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1980 Aston Martin Bulldog concept will reattempt to break the 200-mph barrier

Aston Martin's 1980 Bulldog concept will receive a second chance to break the 200-mph barrier after it emerges from a complete, 18-month restoration. It was developed with all-out speed in mind — the British company had hoped the coupe would become the fastest car in the world, but it missed its target before getting shelved. Had things gone as planned, car-crazed kids in the 1980s would have grown up with a picture of the Bulldog on their bedroom wall. Aston Martin wanted to hoist itself up the exotic car pecking order by building the fastest car in the world, though it didn't envision more than a limited production run of 15 to 25 cars. Penned by William Towns, who also drew the Lagonda, the Bulldog looked like nothing else on the road (let alone in the Aston Range) due in part to its five center-mounted lights, and it broke with tradition by adopting a mid-mounted engine. Engineers floated a top speed of 237 mph, according to The Drive, but the Bulldog ran out of breath at 191 mph. Victor Gauntlett axed the project shortly after taking the top job at Aston Martin in 1981 because the numbers didn't add up; the firm wasn't in a position to chase speed records. Now, 40 years later, it's almost time to try again. Classic Motor Cars began the lengthy process of restoring the Bulldog on behalf of a private owner in 2020, and it enlisted the help of Aston Martin factory driver Darren Turner to see if it can break the 200-mph barrier once it's back in one piece. Richard Gauntlett, the son of the company's former boss, is overseeing the project. We don't know precisely when or where the speed run will take place, but Classic Motor Cars aims to have the Bulldog running by the end of 2021. In a statement, it said that the car is "well on the way to being restored." Restoring any exotic car from the early 1980s is a meticulous, expensive, and time-consuming process, and bringing a one-off concept car back to life increases the number of challenges exponentially. Classic Motor Cars can't order parts from Aston Martin, for example, and it's not able to study another example to find out how a specific panel is welded. It helps that the Bulldog hasn't been significantly modified over the past four decades, though some parts (like the door mirrors) were added later, and that it was complete when it arrived at the shop. Power for the Bulldog comes from a 5.3-liter V8 that's twin-turbocharged to 600 horsepower, figures that are still respectable in 2021.

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Aston Martin reveals new prototype Vantage GT3 race car at Le Mans

Aston Martin is rolling out a prototype version of its new Vantage GT3 at the Michelin Aston Martin Racing Le Mans Festival race this weekend. The race car is a replacement for the V12 Vantage GT3 but won't be homologated for competition until March 1, 2019. It's also showing — but not racing — a new Vantage GT4. Both are based on the Vantage road car. The Vantage GT3 has a dry weight of 2,745 pounds and is powered by the same 4.0-liter turbocharged V8, but the Aston racing tuners have tweaked output to 535 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque, up from 503 hp and 505 lb-ft. It also keeps the road car's lightweight aluminum chassis but adds a steel roll cage, Xtrac six-speed sequential gearbox, Alcon motorsports multi-plate clutch, Ohlins four-way adjustable dampers, Alcon brakes and Bosch Motorsport ABS. It's being helmed by driver Ross Gunn. Aston introduced the V12 Vantage GT3 seven years ago. It's the brand's most successful customer car and most recently won the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup and British GT series. Aston is keeping the Vantage GT4 on display in its paddock for potential customers and race fans. It's also set to be homologated on March 1, 2019. Related Video: Featured Gallery Aston Martin Vantage GT3, GT4 Image Credit: Aston Martin Aston Martin Coupe Racing Vehicles aston martin v12 vantage aston martin vantage gt3