This spectacular presentation was preceded by an 18-month comprehensive restoration at Classic Motor Cars in Bridgnorth, Shropshire, which invested over 6,000 hours of work in the car that briefly made waves over forty years ago and then disappeared.
According to Aston Martin's plans, the Bulldog should have been the fastest production car in the world. However, instead of the hoped-for 200, the wedge only managed 191 miles per hour, which equates to around 307 km/h. As a result, the project was abandoned for financial reasons.
"It became a kind of mythical beast," said project manager Richard Gauntlett, whose father Victor Gauntlett was Managing Director at Aston Martin when he cut the Bulldog in the early 1980s.
He added: "It disappeared from the scene when it was bought by a buyer from the Middle East. Over the years, the car was spotted in various locations around the globe before turning up in the US, where it was bought by Phillip Sarofim, who has now flown to the UK for the unveiling of his car.
Nigel Woodward, who organized the restoration, said: "18 people have worked on this car over the last year and a half. When we took delivery of it, it didn't look bad. But on closer inspection, it became clear that there would be a lot of work to do."
"The car had been damaged during a forklift maneuver. It hadn't been driven for years and it was obvious that a lot of parts would have to be rebuilt if it was ever going to run 200 mph," he added.
He explains, "We tried to stay true to the original design and concept by not only restoring the color and trim, but also by designing the car so that the major mechanical components are in the places the designers intended them to be at the time. Installing state-of-the-art engine management systems and modern parts such as liquid-cooled turbochargers will ensure that the Bulldog will last for generations to come."
Finally, he thanks everyone involved: "Fortunately we had a great team and were able to work with two of the original engineers, Keith Martin and David Morgan, and Lizzie Carrie, wife of Bulldog designer William Towns. They made the start of the project massively easier and their help was invaluable in completing the car."
Phillip Sarofim, who entrusted his Aston to Richard Gauntlett and CMC, seems very pleased with the result: " Richard and the people at CMC have done a super job. The car looks really great. Now we will work with Aston Martin racing driver Darren Turner to get the car to 200mph. I am very confident that we will achieve this."
