The owner of the world's only Aston Martin Bulldog wants to attempt hitting 200 mph with the car, 40 years after Aston Martin attempted the same feat.

The Bulldog is a mid-engine supercar with gullwing doors that Aston Martin rolled out as a concept in 1980, when the company was owned by American businessmen Peter Sprague and George Minden. They were also responsible for the equally wedgy Lagonda sedan, which actually saw a small production run.

The Bulldog features a 5.3-liter twin-turbocharged V-8 delivering somewhere between 600 and 700 horsepower, a crazy figure for the time. Sadly, limited funds meant the automaker only made one attempt at setting a top speed record with the car. In 1981, it was taken to a top speed of 191 mph, well short of the estimated top speed of 237 mph.

Shropshire Star reported Thursday that the car's current owner will make a new attempt, though he won't be doing the actual driving. That honor will go to racing driving Darren Turner, who has driven for Aston Martin in endurance racing. The goal is to hit 200 mph, though a date hasn't been set.

Before he can make the run, the Bulldog will need some significant maintenance, considering it hasn't been driven much in the past four decades. Its owner is having the car fully restored, with British firm Classic Motor Cars having already spent almost 18 months working on it.

"I had heard of the legend of Bulldog from within Aston Martin and when news started to filter out about the car being restored to go for the 200 mph target, I thought that was such a cool thing to do,” Turner told Shropshire Star.