Bowler Defender Challenge: Driven
PH gets down and dirty with Bowler's competition tweaked Land Rover Defender
Not quite. Look a little closer and you glimpse the signature yellow and blue of a Bilstein damper and the roll cage tubing silhouetted against the Perspex window. The surprise continues though, as seeing a Defender prepped to proper rally spec is rather unusual.
The mods have been made by serial Land Rover fettlers and brand alliance partners Bowler, and we know how good Bowler is when it comes to making go-faster Landies...
Yes, that really is a Defender rally car
This particular car is, officially, the Defender Challenge by Bowler - for £50,000 plus VAT, Bowler's off-road gurus will build you a Defender based on the standard 90 Hard Top, featuring that car's 2.2-litre turbodiesel motor tuned to produce 170hp (50hp stronger than the standard unit) and 332lb ft of torque.
Along with the engine, the Defender Challenge uses the standard gearbox, standard driveshafts, standard brakes and standard diffs. In fact, the only non-standard items on the car are the vital safety features you actually need to go racing: bucket seats, six-point harnesses, roll cage, fire extinguisher and, OK, the lightweight 18-inch wheels and Kumho control tyres. But when you've got a base as strong and tough as the iconic Defender, what's the point in breaking the bank?
The Challenge is being aimed at competitors with lots of enthusiasm but not much experience, giving them a platform to develop as a rally driver and a springboard to larger Rally Raid events, such as the Dakar. FIA and ASO approval helps here.
He may not look it but Sean's very happy
Aiming it at the novice racer means there are few hidden costs. The Defender is still fully road legal so you really can drive there, race, and drive home.
It's forgiving, too. Sat on the start line to the rally stage and with the diffs locked in, the grip is immense. Professional Bowler lunatic-cum-driver Ed Cobley is sat beside me, calmly feeding pace notes through the intercom, most of them suffixed with "slippy". He likens the conditions to "go-karting on slicks, on ice," so you've got an idea how little friction there is.
This is good, as wildly oversteering a Defender while spraying the scenery with mud is hilarious. The standard steering ratio - albeit helped by a smaller steering wheel - is slow, so you have to be quick at the helm. But get the nose in early and use the throttle to get this car's optional limited-slip rear diff hooking up and the Bowler rockets out the corners with a whiff of oversteer. Even if it's stopped too early by the diesel's torque-rich rather than rev-hungry delivery.
For a circuit driver like me it's odd at first, as lifting off exacerbates the understeer - you'll just slither further wide, wiping away time and speed. The first time you set the car's attitude on the brakes going into the corner and then jump onto the throttle immediately, the penny drops. Picking up this experience early and quickly is what the Defender Challenge is about.
And this will hit 62mph in under eight seconds!
Despite the short wheelbase, how manageable the Defender is continues the theme of surprise. It doesn't roll excessively given how high it's jacked up, and the dampers help it find grip with uncanny tenacity at this price. Even when you get it wrong it doesn't bite - well, not too hard.
"Long three right cut, care, slippy on exit," comes the call from Ed. I revert to my old ways and don't turn in early enough - the lack of grip and deceptively slow steering compounding things. Then I lift the gas to try and tighten my line, but without the aid of the diffs to drag me round on the power we just wallow helplessly closer to the Armco on the exit.
"Boot it!" comes the order. With that I call on the fatter torque curve to get me out of trouble. The Defender immediately hauls me through the quagmire and back onto the relative safety of the rutted track. It's here where the engine mods make the difference.
Buckets and harnesses an FIA requirement
As a package, the Bowler Defender Challenge car is pitched pretty much perfectly. It'll nurture and flatter novice drivers but still entertain and satisfy more skilled pilots.
That many of its key components are based on regular Defender running gear is a boon (cheap to buy, cheap to fix), with enough modifications in the right areas to keep things interesting.
Our Matt is going racing in the PistonHeads Caterham Academy this year, but we wouldn't mind a few rounds off-road in this, either. So, Bowler, the PH smiley on the side of one of these would look awesome...
LAND ROVER DEFENDER CHALLENGE BY BOWLER
Engine: 2,198cc, 4-cyl turbodiesel
Transmission: 6-speed manual, four-wheel drive (with diff lock)
Power (hp): 170
Torque (lb ft): 332
0-62mph: 7.9sec
Top speed: >100mph (depending on tyres)
Weight: 1,770kg (approx.)
Price: £50,000 (plus VAT)
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If not it's a little strange referencing the diffs hooking up
Are you sure it wasn't just the tyres cleaning themselves? There's one thing you need to learn very early when off-roading, and that is - the tyres only clear themselves of mud when they're spinning fast - you get to some muddy braking zones and the tyres fill up and you may as well be on slicks.
You'll find you have to actually blip the throttle in the middle of braking to spin the mud clear of the tread and regain some grip.
It scares the hell out of the circuit boys the first time they go around and realise you can't always brake as hard as you can accelerate!
But as they're only tagging onto other peoples events anyway that are already running, even if they're sorting the entry fee out that's bugger all in the scheme of things.
edit, scratch that, entry to the challenge series is another £10-15k on top!
And support and servicing another 15k on top of that...
Personally I can't see the justification for that price, but if they've got the customers already all power to them, that's some slick marketing
Previous owner must have had big elbows!
Previous owner must have had big elbows!
"100, into 3 right, elbows in"....... ;-)
All my photos of the event can be seen at www.fotoring.co.uk
Here are a couple of videos from the Hill Rally last November, the 2014 event will be the last event in the Bowler Challenge this year!
Borders Hill Rally - Saturday
Borders Hill Rally - Sunday
Full Results Here
If not it's a little strange referencing the diffs hooking up
Are you sure it wasn't just the tyres cleaning themselves? There's one thing you need to learn very early when off-roading, and that is - the tyres only clear themselves of mud when they're spinning fast - you get to some muddy braking zones and the tyres fill up and you may as well be on slicks.
You'll find you have to actually blip the throttle in the middle of braking to spin the mud clear of the tread and regain some grip.
It scares the hell out of the circuit boys the first time they go around and realise you can't always brake as hard as you can accelerate!
There was an excellent article in said magazine about the Toleman Paris-Dakar entry based on a 6R4, IIRC Land Rover weren't interested in the high-tech proposals for a Range Rover entry so the team went their own way. I suppose Camel Trophy was more Land-Rovers favoured application showcasing adventure and endurance but that wouldn't cut the green agenda these days ;-) hence G4 and the lifestyle events.
Haven't seen the quaife ATB mentioned in the article but the behavior sounds like my truck which has a quaife rear...perhaps the traction control has been tinkered with?
I wonder whether they are eligible for entry into ALRC events so differentials must be open (standard) front and rear?
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