Bowler EXR S formalises Land Rover partnership

We've reported in the past on the Defender-based handiwork of British firm Bowler Offroad, and now the company has cemented its relationship with Land Rover by announcing its new Bowler EXR rally-raid racer, sporting "Powered by Land Rover" branding.

Bowler has been building motorsport-focused vehicles for the past 25 years, and each of these has used Land Rover powertrain components, so there were obvious synergies in the newly formed partnership.

The joint branding exercise will focus on the Bowler EXR rally car, but the more interesting part from a consumer point of view is the development of the new Bowler EXR S – a road-legal off-roader billed as the world’s first ‘all-terrain supercar’.

Both vehicles are available to punters, with the Bowler EXR rally-raid competition car – which conforms to FIA T1 specs – priced in the UK from £145,000 ($225K) plus local taxes.

The off-road racer is powered by a modified version of the naturally aspirated 5.0-litre V8 Range Rover Sport petrol engine, which is restricted to 300bhp (224kW) and 582Nm, in line with FIA restrictions. Drive is relayed to the wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox and Ricardo front, centre and rear differentials.

But it’s the road-legal Bowler EXR S that could appeal to a broader audience. It debuts this week at the Goodwood Festival of Speed and it subsequently goes on sale in the UK priced from £155,000 ($240K) plus local taxes.

The EXR S shares the EXR’s hydroformed base chassis (with the engine moved 300mm rearward) and various switchgear, light clusters and grilles, all from the Range Rover Sport. The EXR S also scores the same strong and lightweight composite body panels with its competition-bred stablemate.

Befitting its ‘all-terrain supercar’ billing, the Bowler EXR S is propelled by a modified version of the Range Rover Sport’s supercharged 5.0-litre V8 that kicks out 410kW and 705Nm. The blown V8 is hooked up to the same six-speed ZF auto and E-diff as the Range Rover Sport 5.0-litre V8 Supercharged.
 
The company claims this combo enables the 1800kg off-roader to sprint to 60mph (0-96km/h) in just 4.2 seconds, on its way to a v-max of 250km/h – numbers that should send the odd tremor among pilots of the Mercedes ML63 AMG, Porsche Cayenne Turbo and BMW X6M.

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