Bowler Motors Limited is a British manufacturer of off-road racing vehicles built on Land Rover Defender and Range Rover chassis. The company works from Belper in Derbyshire, and its cars have competed at the Dakar Rally and in British hill climbs.
Bowler Motors at a glance
| Founded | 1985, by Andrew (Drew) Bowler |
|---|---|
| Base | Belper, Derbyshire, United Kingdom |
| Speciality | off-road racing vehicles on Land Rover Defender and Range Rover chassis |
| First model | Bowler Tomcat |
| Next model | Bowler Wildcat |
| Wildcat rights sold | December 2007, to Qt Services |
| Later model | Bowler Nemesis; road version shown in late 2009 |
| Owner | Jaguar Land Rover, since December 2019 |
| New project | Project CSP 575, announced November 2020 |
| Founder died | 14 November 2016 |
based on one source (English Wikipedia)
History of the Bowler Motors
Andrew Bowler started the company in 1985 after modifying a Land Rover Series I to drive competitively. When other competitors asked for similar vehicles he began taking orders, and the firm grew from eight people designing and building aftermarket parts and rally raid vehicles on the Bowler family farm in Derbyshire.
The first model was the Bowler Tomcat, which was sold before development moved on to the Bowler Wildcat. In December 2007 the manufacturing rights to the Wildcat were sold to Qt Services so that existing owners would be supported while Bowler concentrated on its newer vehicle, the Bowler Nemesis. A road version of the Nemesis was revealed in late 2009.
Bowler has long been involved in motorsport, with works and private teams at the Dakar Rally, the British Hill Climb Championship, the French Baja and many other extreme off-road events. On 15 November 2016 the company’s website carried a single statement that its founder, Drew Bowler, had died suddenly the previous day; the company said it would continue his vision.
Jaguar Land Rover acquired Bowler Off Road in December 2019, and Bowler became part of Jaguar’s Special Vehicle Operations division while remaining in Belper. It continues to make aftermarket parts and rally raid vehicles, mainly on Defender 90 and Defender 110 platforms. In November 2020 Bowler announced a new model under the project name CSP 575, an SUV based on the Defender 110 station wagon and powered by the 5.0-litre Jaguar AJ-V8 from the Range Rover Sport SVR.
Design and features
- Land Rover foundations: every Bowler is built around a Defender or Range Rover chassis.
- Rally raid focus: vehicles designed for the Dakar, Bajas and extreme off-road competition.
- Small-scale production: the company began with eight people on a Derbyshire farm.
- Factory backing: part of Jaguar Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations since 2019.
Bowler Motors versions
- Tomcat: the first Bowler model, sold before the Wildcat.
- Wildcat: the best-known early Bowler; manufacturing rights sold to Qt Services in 2007.
- Nemesis: the successor, with a road version shown in 2009.
- Raptor (2009): a concept car.
- CSP RIV (2017): a Rapid Intervention Vehicle shown at the DSEI arms fair.
- Project CSP 575 (2020): a Defender 110-based SUV with the 5.0-litre supercharged V8.
The cars are built on the Land Rover Defender and Range Rover. More off-road machines are in the Land Rover collection.
Sources
- Bowler Motors, English Wikipedia: history, models, ownership
