With sleek lines, crisp handling and a throaty motor, the Aston Martin V12 Vanquish leaves little to be desired. But that didn’t stop Danish firm HBH from tearing the car apart, relocating the engine to behind the driver and adding bespoke bodywork along with a host of other changes to create the one-off Bulldog GT.
Named after a 1980 Aston Martin concept car that also featured a mid-engine layout, the Bulldog GT possesses a rather fetching form with little more than the side windows and wheels carried over from the donor car. Despite a gaping grille, menacing side intakes (which resemble the One-77′s vents in reverse) and a huge rear diffuser, the car manages to retain the characteristic elegance of an Aston Martin.
Deciding that the standard 510 horsepower, 5.9-liter V12 was just a tad too tame, HBH bolted on twin turbochargers in order to increase output to a satanic 666 ponies along with 548 lb-ft of torque. A six-speed manual transmission and limited-slip differential help the car to reach a claimed zero-to-60 mph time of 3.9 seconds and a top speed of 186 mph; don’t be surprised if both figures end up being conservative.
Balancing out the uprated engine are ventilated carbon-ceramic rotors with six-piston calipers up front and four-pots in the rear.
HBH is building the Bulldog GT in a special arrangement whereby the client receives 50 percent of the design and production rights. Whether the car remains totally unique or spawns a limited production run (assuming further demand materializes) is thus up to the Bulldog GT’s owner.
References
1.’HBH tunes an…’ view
