WILLIAM Towns, the designer responsible for the dramatically shaped Aston Martin Lagonda of 1976, died of cancer last month at the age of 56.
Mr Towns was also responsible for the style of the more traditional DBS/V8 series Aston cars, but it was for the fantastic razor-edge Lagonda for which he will be best remembered.
Aston Martin needed a special new car to help the firm emerge from receivership, a design that would bring the company back into the limelight.
The Lagonda gathered so many orders it saved Aston Martin from bankruptcy.
The outlandish Lagonda, with its slab sides, outrageously long bonnet and sharp nose, was basically a re-styled V8 and was finished in an unprecedented seven months from sketch to show car.
The car was a huge success, attracting 250 deposits at GBP2,000 (about $23,000) each and colossal press coverage.