With Land Rover and Bowler
formalising their brand alliance
in 2012, we've been eagerly anticipating the first fruits of their official partnership. And here it is, but don't worry; there's far more to this Defender than meets the eye.
Add EXR to Defender and this is the result!
Details from Bowler weren't exactly comprehensive, but there will be collaboration with Land Rover on a race series for 2014. The car you see here it the "more sanitised" roadgoing equivalent of a Defender racer. Sounds exciting, no?
Ostensibly based on a 90 XS, this Defender has been totally overhauled by Bowler to create something spectacular. A bespoke Bowler suspension kit featuring new springs, dampers, anti-roll bars and bushes is just the start. There's a brake upgrade package, 18-inch Compomotive wheels, a half-cage (with the fold-down seats still usable) and Recaro front chairs.
And that's before we talk performance. Bowler wouldn't release any specific outputs, but the claims are fairly wild. Using the standard engine and recalcitrant gearbox, it now has a Defender reputedly capable of 0-62mph in 7.5 seconds. A standard Defender 90 takes 15.8 seconds. We're told most of the engine work is, unbelievably, just electronic,but will endeavour to add more detail as it's released.
Bowler claims it can still do this too
Bodywork tweaks over the standard Defender include the lighter bumper and side sills. Those tyres look pretty trick also.
The guys at Bowler made a specific point about their intentions with this car: "We're not adding luxury, we're making a better Defender". To that end, it retains the same off-road and towing capabilities of the standard car. The latter much quicker, presumably
The Bowler Defender will be on display at CarFest South this weekend. Whilst an on-sale date hasn't yet been released (this very car was only finished on Wednesday!), it will be available through Stratstone Land Rover dealers as part of the pair's new agreement. We've been promised a drive ASAP; given what happened with Monkey in an EXR S, that's a hugely tempting prospect.