William Towns

Who was William Towns?

William Towns was a British car designer.

Towns began his training as a designer at Rootes in 1954, where he was mainly involved in the styling of seats and door handles. Later he was also involved with the styling of their Hillman Hunter. He moved to Rover in 1963 and worked there for David Bache and designed the body of the Rover-BRM gas turbine Le Mans car. In 1966 he left Rover to join Aston Martin as a seat designer, eventually becoming the force behind the Aston Martin Lagonda.

He left Aston Martin after the Lagonda for more remunerative industrial design work in 1977, but as a freelance designer, worked on the Jensen-Healey, the successful Hustler kit-car, the Reliant SS2 and the short-lived Railton F28/F29.

Towns died from cancer in June 1993, at his home in Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire.

Up until July 2005 his own cars were on display at the Heritage Motor Centre, Gaydon, UK.