Bowler Defender Challenge New 90 becomes a full-on cross-country racer

Land Rover is getting ready for a return to top-level motorsport – with this Dakar-ready Defender 90 prepared by in-house rally specialist Bowler Motors

Words: Tom Alderney Pictures: Land Rover

Since 1985, the name Bowler has been an ever-present at the leading edge of off-road motorsport in the UK. Founded by the late Drew Bowler and now part of the Land Rover empire, the Derbyshire company was already very highly respected in comp safari circles before becoming globally famous when the Wildcat 200 started appearing in the Dakar Rally and other international cross-country events.

More recently, Bowler built a series of competition cars based on the old-shape Defender which competed in their own championship on the UK stage rallying circuit. And now, the company has

famous when the Wildcat 200 started appear- unveiled the successor to those vehicles – the unveiled the successor to those vehicles – the 2022 Bowler Defender Challenge. Based on the current Defender 90, the Bowler Challenge model is fi tted with a version of Land Rover’s turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol engine developing 300bhp. It’s fi tted with a full cage, underbody protection, raised suspension, 18”

Defender 90 prepared by in-house rally specialist Bowler Motors

rally-spec wheels and column-mounted paddle shifters for its auto box.

The vehicle is certain to become a collector’s item. However it was created for a more direct purpose – to compete in a new version of the Bowler Defender Challenge rally series, which will take place over the course of seven events around the UK during 2022. Packages start from £99,500, which includes the vehicle itself and entry into the series, complete with event support.

As before, the series is designed to act as a feeder into international cross-country rallying and an environment in which drivers and navigators can learn the ropes. It’s open to competitors with any level of experience, with its own dedicated service and hospitality areas as well as the option of training and extended support. Bowler says past versions of the Challenge have been ‘an ideal platform on which to gain motorsport knowhow before joining other Bowlers and competing in rally-raid events across the globe.’

‘Our technical support, married to Bowler’s legendary rally expertise, has turned the Defender into a purposeful competition machine’

Some car makers put a set of alloys and stickers on a warm hatchback and talk about it being ‘rally bred.’ This is not one of those: it’s a fully prepared competition car. Held securely in your bucket seat by a six-point harness, you share the cabin with a full FIA-spec roll cage and plumbed in fi re system, and there’s a full set of controls including navigator’s-side switches for the horn, wipers and washers. Behind the steering wheel, meanwhile, are paddle shifters for the automatic box – something which, at this moment in time, is unique to the Bowler-built Defender

All competitors will be driving identical Bowler Defender Challenge 90s. Bowler Motors, which since 2019 has been part of Jaguar Land Rover’s SVO operation, prepares the vehicles by stripping them down and rebuilding them into full-spec competition cars.

In doing so, it makes detailed modifi cations to the Defender’s body shell, adding extra rigidity to cope with the specifi c demands of motorsport. This was designed in tandem with a full-width, full-length underbody protection system in 6mm aluminium, and there’s also a full FIA-spec internal roll cage linked in to the suspension mounts.

Underneath, the suspension subframes have been modifi ed, with front and rear strut braces adding extra strength up top, and the engine, gearbox and radiator mounts have all been revised to cope with motorsport use. There’s a rally-spec rear crossmember, too, and the spare wheel is mounted on the rear stays of the cage.

Talking of the suspension, a set of bespoke turrets hold stiffened springs and Fox dampers, and the upper front wishbone is revised to suit the geometry of the vehicle’s new ride height. All-terrain tyres are mounted on bespoke 18” wheels.

Performance-wise, the suspension is very much the focus of the work that’s been done on the vehicle. The 2.0-litre Ingenium engine remains largely standard, though it does breathe out through Bowler’s own sport exhaust. Cooling for the engine is improved by modifi cations, including the removal of the auxiliary radiators, designed to allow greater airfl ow through the main radiator, and cooling capacity for the automatic gearbox is also increased.

Sticking with the gearbox, this has a new column shift position that’s been optimised for the vehicle’s motorsport bucket seats. It also gains paddle shifts behind the steering wheel – something which is currently unique to Bowler.

The company has developed its own rally-focused software, too. This is fully integrated into the 90’s ECU network and ABS/DCS system – as well as the standard safety systems which remain in place (unlike the airbags, all of which have

been removed). The body control unit has been adapted for motorsport use, too.

In addition to all of this, the engine breathes in through a raised air intake. In Britain, these are traditionally fi tted to protect against water ingress during deep wading; this tends not to be a big issue on stage rallies, however dust certainly can be – and, as is the case in most of the world, a snorkel is the best way of protecting your engine long-term and preventing its air fi lter from getting clogged by the sort of intense clouds that can be kicked up by other vehicles’ wheels.

From the outside, while the vehicle’s purpose is already very clear there’s further evidence for it in the shape of a roof spoiler, with integrated high-level marker lights, and additional front and rear lighting. All door windows have been replaced by polycarbonate, as have the Alpine lights in the roof.

Inside, items like a kill switch, plumbed-in fi re extinguisher and navigator’s-side controls for the lights, washers and horn further demonstrate that this is very much a motorsport machine. There’s a rally-spec facia on the dash, too.

Elsewhere, there’s not a detail left unattended to. The navigator gets a footrest, the wheelarches are extended and reinforced and there are additional bonnet-mounted windscreen washers to deal with the levels of crud and dirty water that get thrown around when off-roading at max chat. For the same reason, the standard mud fl aps have made way for rally-spec units, and for extra safety and speed off access to the spare wheel there’s a manual release mechanism for the rear door. As you’d expect from a team with Bowler’s pedigree (it had the second-largest factory entry in the 2005 Dakar), no stone has been left unturned in the quest for rallying perfection with the new Defender.

‘The development of the new Bowler Defender Challenge rally car perfectly illustrates the mutual benefi ts of Bowler joining Jaguar Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations,’ comments SVO boss Michael van der Sande. ‘Our technical support, married to Bowler’s legendary rally expertise, has turned the extraordinarily capable Defender into a purposeful competition machine.

‘The Bowler Defender Challenge will prove the Defender’s durability through some of the very toughest conditions, while providing an exciting and accessible entry point into all-terrain motorsport for a new generation of Bowler and Land Rover customers.’

It may not have escaped your notice that the Defender Challenge’s £99,500 price tag is very close indeed to that of another recently introduced member of the Defender family – the 5.0-litre V8. In this case, however, you also get a supported entry into a full rally championship as part of the deal.

A good chunk of the value in this vehicle comes from Bowler’s suspension work – which in this case features remote-reservoir Fox dampers. The suspension mounts are linked in to the roll cage, and front and rear turrets alike are reinforced by strut braces

As for the vehicle itself, one suspects most off-roaders and Land Rovers fans alike would sooner have a Bowler-prepped rally truck than a lowered speed machine. Though if you can afford one, you can probably have both…

Above, left to right: The vehicle’s front profi le has been amended to integrate the bumper with a complex underbody protection plate. The sills are protected, too, by a full-width hull made from 6mm reinforced aluminium. To comply with rally regs, the window glass has been replaced with polycarbonate, and a raised air intake feeds mainly dust-free air to the engine – a version of Land Rover’s turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol unit developing 300bhp. Production-class eligibility rules mean the engine is essentially standard, as is the gearbox, though both sit on strengthened mounts amid a fully braced structure of main monocoque and subframes