After the Aston Martin DBS/V8 and Lagonda, possibly William Towns’ most familiar and prolific other work was his crafty Hustler, a versatile straight-lined ‘utility’ car, along the lines of a Mini Moke. Initially developed in 1978 for JSP (Jensen Special Products) as simple to build and buy transportation for developing countries, when JSP failed to develop the Hustler, Towns brought the project in-house through his Interstyl design studio, offering this airy box on wheels with sliding doors as a basic Mini-based self-assembly kit car, initially available as a glassy three-door hatch/estate.
Over subsequent years, Towns stretched his cunningly-simple Hustler to encompass more than 30 derivatives, ranging from four- and six-wheelers, stripped-back open Hellcats, flat-plan wooden bodies, sporting coupes, MPV formats, wheelchair carriers, ice cream vans, amphibious ATVs, and even an engineless rowing boat, using the Hustler’s roof panel!
Hustler mechanical bases developed from Minis, through to Metro, BMC 1100/1300, Rover V8 and Jaguar V12-based derivatives, the latter being offered as the plush and imposing six-wheeled Highlander, a thinking man’s self-build Range Rover alternative, plus the UK’s first-ever four-door kit car to boot.
In addition to a pair of very satisfactory restyling jobs for Reliant – to enhance the styling of its capable but unpalatable Michelotti-designed Scimitar SS1 – William Towns remained faithful to his origami design philosophy with his Tracer TCX, an affordable MG Metro-powered mid-engined sports car that anticipated the later MG F, plus the retro-1930s inspired Black Prince roadster, in addition to developing a seemingly endless stream of new derivatives, based on his crafty, head-turning Hustler format.
Town’s final automotive project, ahead of his untimely death at a young 56, was reviving the distinguished Railton name, a pre-war English maker of fine quality, sporting motor cars. Launched in late 1989 with an imposing pair of convertible models, the refined F29 Claremont and sportier F28 Fairmile, these elegant Jaguar XJS-based drop-tops promised much, but build/panel fit complications, plus William’s ill health, leading to his sad passing in 1993, saw the Railton revival fail before it ever had chance to (re-) establish itself.
Aston Martin’s striking new one-off retro coupe is true ‘victor’ of design and William Towns’ legacy, even if it is perhaps a tad too curvy to be a Towns design! The car is a fitting tribute to Victor Gaunlett, the charismatic one-time owner (and saviour) of Aston Martin, but the nod to Williams Towns’ style and his important role in the marque’s fortunes should not be overlooked either. Who knows, perhaps we can look forward to hopefully seeing an Aston Martin Towns one day.