Description
2023 Land Rover Defender 90 Rally Series Bowler Build Number 004.
Immaculate condition, Build Number 004, second year vehicle produced for the Bowler Defender Championship.
VAT Qualifying. £70, 000 Plus Vat
Only 4, 300 Miles from New. Comes with 2 sets of keys.
We are delighted to offer, Bowler Defender - build number 004, Fully prepared and ready to race in the Bowler UK or European championships.
#004 was ordered at the during 2022 as part of the Bowler Defender Challenge and, at the time of purchase, was equipped with all the possible options from Bowler. It has also had recent light upgrades, front bumper modifications. It has all European upgrades. It took part in most rounds of the 2023 & 2024 Uk Championship. The vehicle also did the Icelandic Hill Rally, Spain, France, Finland. It had some good results including first at the Spainish Baja 2023.
The vehicle has been maintained by Bowler and has been regularly serviced between events. This has included, new spark plugs, oil and air filter and engine oil. Full invoices for service history and repairs are included. The car is up to date with all the more recent Bowler modifications including the uprated radiator mounting system and the modified torque tube and subframe, fibreglass wheel arch liners. This vehicle has the later style roll cage which can fit two spare wheels. European fire extinguisher upgrade. As this is a year 2 vehicle it comes with the larger screen, full electric dashboard, keyless entry, amongst other upgrades it was based on a Defender P300 SE production car. Which includes driver convenience features such as InControl Security, Sat Nav, Climate Control and Telematics as part of the donor spec. Hopefully drivers won’t ever need to use reverse cameras but the aircon can be a blessing in hot summer rounds.
The vehicle is eligible to enter the 2025 Bowler Owners Uk Defender Rally Series & European Series by M&C Projects, this includes 4 Uk events and 4 European events. The vehicle can join mid way through the season, and support and guidance can be offered for anybody looking to get into rallying. This is also the best value Bowler Defender of its type on the market today. With a massive saving from the price new, these vehicle's were around £140, 000 including vat. One of only 30 Bowler Defender Rally vehicles ever made. Given over 250, 000 new defenders are now on the roads around the world, this is a rare vehicle. Certainly to be a future collectors piece.
Since its inception in 1985, Bowler Motors has developed a worldwide reputation in the arena of design and construction of Land Rover-based off-road vehicles. Led by the company’s inspirational founder, Drew Bowler, until his untimely death in 2016, the company grew from a nascent workforce of just eight to the present group of 35 highly-skilled engineers. Initially focussing on the preparation of cars for British off-road events, the company’s ambitions expanded rapidly to encompass participation in events including the Dakar Rally, Morocco Desert Challenge and Spanish Baja and, for the past two decades, their cars have formed the backbone of many Rally Raid events across the globe.
In late 2019, Jaguar Land Rover acquired Bowler to add to their Special Vehicle Operations Division, and there were those who were worried that Bowler may become a rather watered-down wing of the larger company, however that has not been the case with Bowler, still enjoying a pleasing level of independence with the bonus of now having access to some of the extensive test and development facilities of JLR. A good example of Bowler/ JLR's positive thinking was the announcement in 2021 of the Bowler Defender Championship, a new one-make rally series to promote the Defender and allow customers to take part in rallying in a cost-controlled environment.
The 'Challenge' cars were based on a standard car which was taken off the production line and hand-finished by a specialist team at Bowler. The 2-litre Ingenium petrol four-cylinder engine (296bhp and 295lb/ ft of torque) and the 8-speed automatic transmission both remained largely untouched in order to achieve identical performance in the competing cars. To this they added:
Structural body and chassis
Monocoque bracing – minimises body movement and supports underbody protection
Full FIA internal roll cage integrated with body
Internal spare wheel mount
Rally-spec gearbox cross member
Stiffened gearbox mounts
Strengthened engine mounts
Braced front and rear subframes
Front suspension turret brace
Rear turret brace
Strengthened radiator mounts
Adapted chassis and subframe mounts
Performance
Enhanced cooling to meet needs of competition use
Increased transmission cooling capacity
Bowler Sports exhaust
Bowler 18-inch motorsport wheels, strengthened
All-terrain BF Goodrich tyres
Bespoke suspension design with new springs and bespoke Fox dampers
Front upper wishbone revised to reflect new ride height geometry
Race steering wheel
High-level air intake
Electrical/ systems
ECU system integration with race box
ABS/ DSC – rally control modifications
Integrated wiring harness for new components
New rally-spec facia
Navigator control unit for lights/ washer/ horn
Special Bowler mode
Regulatory
High-level rear marker lights (for Hill Rally Regulations)
Polycarbonate door and rear windows
Alpine Light replaced by aluminium panel
Race sports seats with specific race seat mounts
Five-point race harness
Integrated and hand-held fire suppression
Electrical cut-off switches – internal and external
Complete removal of all airbag systems
Design
Front bumper adapted to take new underbody protection
Bowler front grille with increased air flow
Rear roof spoiler with extended profile and integrated additional lighting
Front and rear wing claddings to meet new underbody protection
Wheelarch extensions utilising accessory fitment
Door lowers – new claddings on shortened doors to enable underbody and sill protection
Function
Additional bonnet-mounted windscreen washers – to deal with rally levels of water splash
Front driving lights for increased night driving illumination
Rally-spec mudflaps
Full underbody protection system – 6mm aluminium reinforced design
Column-mounted gearshift paddle – unique to Bowler
Rear door manual release mechanism
GRP wheelarch liners – increased strength to meet rally requirements
Any enquires please call on the details below or the details below.
