Bowler formalises Land Rover partnership

Bowler and Land River Partnership Bowler has announced the formalisation of its long-standing relationship with Land Rover. Going forward, the Bowler EXR rally car and EXR S road car will proudly sport ‘Powered by Land Rover’ Branding and will demonstrate the best of British engineering and design in rally raid events around the globe.
Since its first car was built 25 years ago, all Bowler rally cars have been developed and built using competition-derived Bowler design and engineering, and have always used Land Rover powertrain components. This process has delivered four generations of class-leading rally cars, and will continue now that Bowler has access to Land Rover’s world-class engineering facilities and a more structured approach to parts supply and procurement.
The brand partnership will focus on the Bowler EXR rally car, but engineering, development and parts supply will be shared across the entire Bowler business, and will include the new Bowler EXR S – the first ‘all terrain supercar’ – which has been developed in response to customer demand for the ultimate road-going rally car.
Both the EXR and EXR S use a modified version of the Range Rover Sport chassis, and both cars use modified versions of the 5.0-litre V8 engine used in Range Rover models. The EXR uses a FIA-restricted naturally-aspirated 5.0-litre V8 engine, while the EXR S uses a 550bhp version of the supercharged 5.0-litre V8 which will provide supercar performance.
Drew Bowler, Managing Director of Bowler, said: “We’re delighted to announce this partnership, which brings very positive benefits to both Bowler and Land Rover. We’ve only ever used Land Rover powertrains, and this relationship will give us access to current Land Rover technologies, and a great platform from which to support our racing activities and develop future models.
He continued: “We’re really looking forward to promoting and selling both the EXR and EXR S on a global basis, and the partnership with Land Rover will help us and our customers in terms of aftersales and parts availability”
Bowlers will be seen competing in this year’s Baja 1000 rally raid in Ukraine and Rally Reykjavik in Iceland, and next year in the Tuareg Rally in Morocco and Silk Way Rally in Russia. In addition, Bowler will have a large presence at the Goodwood Festival of Speed (28 June – 1 July 2012), where it will run five rally cars on the Activity Field, allowing fans and spectators to experience a Bowler in race conditions, and where the company will also be previewing the new EXR S.