Land Rover Defender 90 hard tops prepared by Bowler for the Defender Challenge by Bowler, a one-make UK rally series of 2014–16 sponsored by Land Rover as a feeder to the Dakar.
MODEL LINEDefender ChallengeBUILT BYBowlerPRODUCED2013–16OPERATED INUnited KingdomPRODUCTION13LAYOUT4 wheels · 90″
The record
Land Rover announced its sponsorship of the Defender Challenge by Bowler on 30 October 2013, the first product of the brand partnership agreed in 2012. Each car was a Defender 90 hard top with the standard six-speed manual gearbox and its 2.2-litre diesel uprated by Bowler from 120 bhp to 170 bhp (later quoted as 175 bhp), with 450 Nm; Bowler suspension with Bilstein dampers, an MSA-approved roll cage, race seats with six-point harnesses, an intercom, a fire extinguisher system and lightweight wheels on Kumho tyres. The cars stayed road-legal. A car cost £50,000 plus VAT and a season £10,000–14,000.
The 2014 season had seven rounds from March to November in Wales, Somerset, Nottinghamshire, Shropshire, Dorset and Scotland, supporting events such as the Somerset Stages, the Welsh Hill Rally and the Scottish Hill Rally, and the Dakar organiser ASO backed it as a route to the Dakar for British crews. The series ran until 2016. Chassis R01, SALLDWNP7DA436620, was the first built and served as the works development and press car. Silodrome puts the run at 13 cars.
STATUSseries ended 2016; succeeded by the Bowler Defender Challenge on the new Defender 90
RECORD KINDBase model
MODEL LINEDefender Challenge
FAMILYDefender Challenge
WHEELS4
NOMINAL WHEELBASE90″
BODY STYLEHard top
VARIANTS1
Catalogue fields describe the vehicle's structure and body as this registry records it. They are not certified factory measurements, and no performance figures are published here.
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