How the Bulldog regained its bite

In the end, it took a few months longer than the team had hoped and it wasn’t at Ehra-Lessien but on 6 June, 2023, the Bulldog duly proved that it could top 200mph. On the 10,003ft (1.89-mile) runway at former RAF base Machrihanish, Argyll and Bute, Darren Turner ran it to 205.4mph.

Keith Martin, the car’s creator, was right; Darren said the car did ‘easily hit the 200mph mark’. Delighted Bulldog owner Phillip Sarofin said: ‘Today is about making dreams come true – the dreams of the original designers and engineers. [They] were pioneers breaking not just speed barriers but frontiers of design, innovation and engineering.’

A final word from Keith Martin: ‘Phillip is to be commended for getting this car back to better-than-original shape to be used to inspire future generations. Two hundred and five mph in a 43-year-old road car – I’m still grinning!’

Our hearty congratulations to everybody involved. Not familiar with the story of the Aston Martin Bulldog? Mel Nichols’ article, first published in August last year and shared again here, tells the tale in full.