The Aston Martin bulldog hits the headlines

The Aston Martin bulldog hit the headlines in September with both the BBC and ITV running a major story about its restoration at Classic Motor cars in Bridgnorth, Shropshire.

Marketing Director, David Barzilay said: “ From the very first day the car arrived at CMC, there has been huge interest from people wanting to know about the restoration and what the ultimate plans for the car were.”

He added: “This has included hundreds of contacts from motoring journalists around the world asking for details about the restoration and how that is being masterminded on behalf of the owner by Richard Gauntlett, son of the late Victor Gauntlett, former CEO and Chairman of Aston Martin.”

David said: “ It suddenly all came to a head in September with approaches from the BBC who ran the story on the main TV news, on their website and featured the restoration in the Today programme. This was followed by ITV running the story on their main TV news. The Daily Mail the Times and the Sun were just a few of the newspapers who took up the story.”

He added: There is a general fascination about the story and the fact that the car is being restored to do what it never did in period, to run at 200 miles per hour. There is also

great interest in the fact that the project is being run by Richard Gauntlett who remembers the car from when he was a small boy, who has not only amassed a huge amount of information, but has been able to ‘tell the story’ of the car in a way that has enthralled Television and radio audiences.”

Richard Gauntlett said: “ The Bulldog was headline news around the world when it was first shown 40 years ago. I think it is a great testament to incredible feat by designer William Towns and engineers at Aston Martin that it still grabs the attention of the media all these years later. It certainly deserves the attention but I think we were all a little shocked by the magnitude of it! I was not expecting calls from Australia from people who had seen it on the evening news !”

David added: “ Over the last month, many changes have taken place to get the famous Bulldog chassis and body ready for its next stage. Our skilled body technicians have carried out lots of work, including welding the roll cage in place, repairing the original roof panel and welding rivet holes. These areas are all crucial in making sure the car is safe and is built stronger and sturdier than when it was built in 1980 ready for its 200-mph run.”