automotivebriefs
Designer

William Towns

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9:15

Aston Martin Bulldog

William Towns · 1979

A one-off 1979 concept built to show off Newport Pagnell—and chase a title it never claimed.

10:38

Aston Martin DBS

William Towns · 1967

The Aston Martin DBS is a grand tourer produced from 1967 to 1972. It was designed by William Towns as a modern-looking successor to the DB6, following the collapse of Touring of Milan’s design effort. It shares the DB6’s 4.0 L engine and mechanical base but adopts a larger four-seat layout and a deliberately contemporary fastback silhouette with a squared front grille. It was the final model developed under David Brown’s ownership.

9:46

Aston Martin Lagonda

William Towns · 1976

The 1976 Aston Martin Lagonda Series 2 is a full-size luxury four-door saloon designed from the ground up by William Towns. It introduced the first digital instrument panel in a production car — an LED array whose development cost four times the car’s total budget. Later Series 3 used cathode-ray tubes, worsening reliability. Only 645 units were built across all generations. Its wedge shape defined 1970s automotive avant-garde. Its electronics were a warning, not a promise.