caption upright death_date years_active nationality birth_date known_for notable_works image article_title name occupation
1979 , facing the camera hustler . william towns is behind the car 1.25 1993 -lrb- aged 57 or 58 -rrb- 1954 -- 1993 british 1936 automotive design aston martin lagonda rover-brm frameless william towns
 william towns engineer , designer
william towns

william `` bill '' towns -lrb- 1936 -- 1993 -rrb- 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 .
