William Towns

British automotive designer whose Aston Martin work included the 1967 DBS, the AM V8 and the 1977 V8 Vantage. Before Aston Martin, he worked with David Bache at Rover on the Rover-BRM coupé body.

William Towns began at Rootes in 1954, first on seats and small interior components, and later contributed to Hillman Hunter styling. He joined Rover in 1963 and worked with David Bache on the Rover-BRM gas-turbine programme. Towns designed the coupé body for its 1965 Le Mans car; driven by Graham Hill and Jackie Stewart, it finished tenth overall.

In 1966 Towns joined Aston Martin, initially as a seat and interior designer. Touring of Milan had produced two DB6-replacement prototypes before going out of business, whereupon Aston Martin brought Towns in to design the replacement. The DBS appeared at Blenheim Palace on 25 September 1967. Planned around a new V8, it launched with the 3,995 cc six-cylinder engine. Motor Sport reported that Towns left Newport Pagnell in 1968 to establish a consultancy while continuing Aston work.

DBS V8 was announced on 27 September 1969 with Tadek Marek’s 5,340 cc four-cam V8; Aston Martin called it the world’s fastest four-seat production car. Six- and eight-cylinder DBS production ended in May 1972. That spring, the 70-car, six-cylinder AM Vantage was sold alongside the new Towns-designed AM V8; the 1977 V8 Vantage brought its own aero changes, including a blanked grille and spoilers.