Hollywood film crew and former Aston Martin owner's son celebrate supercar's success in Bridgnorth
A Hollywood documentary team and the son of the man who revived one of Britain's most prestigious motoring marque's were in Bridgnorth on Wednesday to celebrate a unique supercar's 200mph triumph.
The Aston Martin Bulldog was designed as a prototype in 1977 and was hailed as the fastest production car on the road, but the car never achieved its 200mph top speed when it rolled off the production line in 1979.
In June this year, having been restored by Classic Motor Cars (CMC) in Bridgnorth, the forty-year-old Aston Martin hit 205.4 mph on a speed test at the Machrihanish airfield, a former NATO base in Campbeltown Scotland.
The car is now back in Bridgnorth, as the team at CMC prepare it for winter event in St Moritz next year, and on Wednesday it was taking centre stage as production company Aloha, who make Hollywood documentaries, were recording its rich history at their garage.
Richard Gauntlett, the son of former Aston Martin owner Victor Gauntlett, was also on hand at CMC and explained how the Bulldog came into being, and why it never achieved its marketed top speed.
He told the Shropshire Star: "When the car was produced, Aston Martin had been going through a terrible time in the 1970s. It almost disappeared forever.
"They then launched the Lagonda and got world wide acclaimed, so they wanted to prove their technical, aesthetic and engineering know-how and to say: 'We may have been down but we are still here. And it was successful at doing that and was on the covers of magazines and newspapers as the worlds fastest road car.
"It managed 191.8mph but Aston Martin knew would go faster but didn't have the space to do it. Plans were put in place to go on a long straight to crack that 200mph, but time went on, my father took over and and they were focussed on new things."
He said the prototype was eventually sold to a Saudi prince who took it to America, but it fell into disrepair and it was left to "languish".
Texas collector Philip Sarofim, a friend of Richard Gauntlett, eventually bought the car and asked CMC in Bridgnorth to restore it.
With the help of the car's original engineers, the team spent more than 6,000 hours bringing it back to the same condition it was when it was unveiled by Aston Martin in 1980.
Tim Griffin, managing director of CMC in Bridgnorth said: "The Aston Martin Bulldog has a rich history and heritage, it is certainly deserving of its own documentary.
"I'm looking forwards to seeing the hard work of the CMC team on screen and for the Bulldog's story to be told."
