Aston Martin’s first mid-engined concept car from 1980 was the Bulldog. It was a dramatic, wedge-shaped prototype created to demonstrate Aston Martin’s engineering ambitions and suggest a possible high-performance production model.
Designed by William Towns, the Bulldog used a 5.3-litre twin-turbocharged V8 mounted behind the passenger compartment and featured gull-wing doors, five centrally mounted hidden headlamps and a futuristic interior. The project’s internal code was DP K901.
Aston Martin originally imagined building between 15 and 25 examples, but the cost proved too high. Only one Bulldog was completed. Its name came from the Scottish Aviation Bulldog aircraft flown by Aston Martin managing director Alan Curtis; it was also nicknamed “K9” after the robotic dog in Doctor Who.
The prototype was officially launched on 27 March 1980. It was later sold and eventually restored, reaching 205.4 mph in 2023—far beyond its original demonstration targets. AMV8, Virage and Lagonda are separate Aston Martin names, not the Bulldog’s name.