Driven: Bowler EXR-S

Tantalisingly close to production-spec, PH samples Bowler's mad 550hp EXR-S road-going 4x4

It's zero degrees outside and the sub-surface of the loose gravel track I'm driving on is frozen solid, the crumbly top layer like ball bearings. "This car's got a lot of torque and it's on sand tyres so they won't dig in - you'll find it moves about a lot", says Ed Cobley, my co-pilot. He races Bowlers , so he knows what he's talking about.

Sean gets a quick warm-up in the 'light' Bowler

I'm in Bowler's 'light' version to begin with - kicking out 300hp from its 5.0-litre normally aspirated V8 - to give me an idea of what it'll do off-road. The shove it generates is immense: there's no scrabbling for grip, just an angry bark from the straight-through pipe. The way it finds traction is astonishing.

Back it in
Braking isn't the same story, however. Even on standard Range Rover Sport four-piston calipers and discs it'll lock the wheels before I can say shhh... as we head for that large 100-year-old oak at an alarming rate. Sideways.

My heart rate increases the first time it happens, but once you realise you have to drive the car this way - set the attitude by backing it into the corner, then pick up the throttle and gun it out - it actually becomes perfectly natural. The driving style is infectious. On the way home I find myself thinking, "If I just use a bit of brake as I enter this roundabout..."

Looks mad, feels surprisingly sane

My few laps on the rally stage are over all too quickly, but I'm amazed at just how civilised the car is. The EXR rally car has 250mm of suspension travel and the compliance in the dampers is fantastic. Despite at least four feet of air over the jumps, there's no neck-cricking snap on landing. If this is what the off-roader is like, Bowler's EXR-S 550hp on-road monster should be immense.

On-road in an off-roader
Unfortunately, the ECU of the finished EXR-S decided to throw a tantrum, so it was back into the prototype vehicle Mr Harris drove earlier in the year for my drive. It's different now, though. Immediately you notice the EXR-S prototype's suspension tweaks to improve its on-road manners and a mildly more representative interior of what the road car will get. Importantly though, the powertrain is exactly what the road car will get.

Finished 'road car' project barely tamed

That's a 550hp supercharged 5.0-litre V8 taken from the current Range Rover Sport mated to the road car's six-speed autobox and its three differentials. This, however, is nothing like the standard car.

Harnessed in the leather bucket seat you look out over a Range Rover Sport steering wheel and clocks, but the ferocity of the noise emitted from the near straight-through side exit pipe is enough to blow small children over.

Hold on tight
I'm on Millbrook's mile straight doing a few 0-100-0 runs - stall the torque converter on the brakes, peel off the left hand pedal and hang on. The noise is fantastic - mechanical and rabid - and despite no form of traction control the EXR-S's rear axle digs in, with just the right amount of weight transfer to aid the launch. The front scrabbles around for grip but bites once it's off the line.

Odd mix of regular Rangie and rally car

My runs were back-to-back with a Range Sport and the Bowler simply embarrasses the standard car - 0-62mph takes 4.2 seconds in the EXR-S, compared to 5.9 in the Sport - but it's the 100-0 part that gets you.

I just kiss 100mph and hit the brake pedal with everything I've got - the EXR-S prototype has ABS, only it doesn't use any clever stability systems to keep the rear wheels following the fronts. As that weight transfer comes into play again, this time unloading the rear, it squirms around like a toddler in a high chair. I'm forced to dial in a quarter turn of lock to catch it, but it still pulls up only a quarter of a mile after we set off - the normal Range would be sailing straight on here. But then it does weigh 725kg less than the 2.6-tonne Landy.

Development mule has been updated

The penny drops...
Then it hits me. The company has managed to condense that essence of ridiculous robustness from what it does on the rough stuff and package it into a road car with the perfect balance of rawness and refinement.

Company founder Drew Bowler keeps telling me, "It's all about performance, but people don't actually want a rally car on the road." I can tell. An autobox, light steering and acceleration to warp perceptions should make the £155,000 EXR-S a stonkingly capable - mental, even - but useable car.

BOWLER EXR-S
Engine: 4,999cc V8, supercharged
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Power (hp): 550 @ 6,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 461 @ 2,500 - 5,500rpm
0-62mph: 4.2 sec
Top speed: 155mph (electronically limited)
Weight: 1,875kg
MPG: 15.0mpg (estimated)
CO2: TBC
Price: £155,000 (before options)