Monday 7th November 2011

HBH Bulldog GT: The Mid-Engined Aston(ish)

Danish coachbuilder moving forward with dramatic mid-motor Martin

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This is the HBH Bulldog GT, a vision of what the Aston Martin V12 Vantage could have become if it had been mid-engined. We first reported on the Danish firm's work back in May, but now we can put a bit more flesh on the bones of the car.

Originally there were whispers that HBH would be creating their own bespoke chassis, but it seems that the final product will actually be based on a (heavily, we presume) modified version of the 'normal' Aston V12 Vantage.

That might sound like a mammoth job for a company you've never heard of, but in fact HBH has supercar form, having designed the ST1 supercar for fellow Danes, Zenvo.

Curently, the plan is to produce the car as a one-off, but HBH is open to the possibility of a short production run, a la the New Stratos project.

Power of the new car will come from a twin-supercharged version of the Aston Martin V12, with 666bhp and 548lb ft of torque from the 6.0-litre engine. 0-60mph, they reckon, will be dealt with in 3.9secs, with a top speed of 186mph.

Clothing the modified under-bits is (or rather, will be) a body of hand-beaten aluminium.

"We could have made the entire body for the car in carbon," Christian Brandt, one of the chaps behind HBH told Classic Driver. "In fact, in many ways it would have been easier and the weight of the body could have been slightly lower. But it just didn't feel right, given the heritage of Aston Martin. Instead, we chose to manufacture the body panels in hand-beaten aluminium - following Aston tradition."

HBH reckons on development for the new car taking 12 months to develop, so we could see it in the metal in early 2013.

Bulldog GT Tech Specs:

Body:
Hand-beaten aluminium 

Engine:
All-alloy, quad overhead camshaft, 48-valve, 5935cc V12, twin superchargers

Gearbox:
Six-speed manual transaxle gearbox, limited-slip differential

Max power:
675 PS / 666 bhp at 6500rpm

Max torque:
756Nm / 548lb ft at 5750rpm

Acceleration:
0-62mph in 3.9 seconds

Top speed:
300km/h / 186mph

Wheels: 
9.5in x 19in (front); 12.5in x 20in (rear); forged alloy 

Tyres:
255/35-19 (front); 335/30-20 (rear)

Front brakes:
Ventilated carbon ceramic discs, 398mm diameter with six-piston monobloc calipers 

Rear brakes:
Ventilated carbon ceramic discs, 360mm diameter with four-piston monobloc calipers

[rob.e]

That looks bloody fantastic.

[richb77]

That is the BEST looking new sports car i have seen in a long time.

[FWDRacer]

Aston's under utilised design department will be surfing PH right now. Look at this chaps. Good, Eh?

[Chris71]

Hint of Jag C-X75?

[threespires]

Not another.

Next...............................

[BuzzLightyear]

Very nice - perhaps excepting the side profile which is slightly unbalanced IMO - but don't really see the point of it unless it's one of those "showcase" cars to demonstrate the company's engineering skill and ability.

The "new" Stratos was a re-imagining of a classic; the Aston is beautiful, pretty quick already and currently available (although I might opt for the twin-superchargers if money was no object).;)

[McAndy]

The back looks like the offspring of a randy Audi R8 and One-77.

Not bad though.

[Neil1300R]

"their own bespoke chassis, but it seems that the final product will actually be based on a (heavily, we presume) modified version of the 'normal' Aston V12 Vantage"

Yeah right. The VH arcitecture is designed for front engined, rear wheel drive cars, with gearbox on the rear axle. So When they say "modified version of the chassis" they mean lets start again and design our own!

Why a top speed of only 184MPH, Vanquish S could manage 200+ with significantly less power.

Think its all bullst.

[hornetrider]

Helloooooo

[soad]

Decent effort - will cost a bloody fortune though.

[Sam_68]

Slower than the original Aston Martin Bulldog?

So much for progress...

[JohnG1]

[quote=Neil1300R
Why a top speed of only 184MPH, Vanquish S could have a quoted claimed 200+ with significantly less power.

Think its all bullst.
[/quote]

Edited for accuracy!!

[Mr Dave]

It looks right.

Not perfect but a hell of a lot better than a Cygnet.

It also doesnt set off my BS alarm like most of these new supercars.

[Luca Brasi]

'Only' 3.9s to 60 with 666hp?

[thewheelman]

I'm guessing the designer had pictures of R8s & Astons in his office while he was designing this?

Another generic supercar, boring!

[Scoobyshue]

I could never dream of affording or owning, but that looks bluddy fantastic.

[300bhp/ton]

rob.e said:

That looks bloody fantastic.

It might look ok. But all seems rather pointless.... I mean what's the point in designing a car based on a car that doesn't exist??

And they seem to then be rather specific with many performance details and even spec, while ignoring the fact that is doesn't actually exist.

0 out of 10 from me for it's pointlessness.

[George H]

I think that looks awful. Much prefer Aston's current designs.

And a supercharger has only shaved 0.3 of a second off the 0-60 time? Hardly seems worth it imo.

[pagani1]

Looks ok but if I had the money I would rather go and see Aston Martin and buy from them if only for choosing all of the options and enjoying the factory visit.
Plus keeping my money in the UK economy.

[MrCarCoach]

Stunning, yes to the please!