Does the classic Defender still have ‘currency’ at a frankly ludicrous £200k?
Occasionally glacial decision-making can pay dividends to some manufacturers, outlines Iain Robertson, but Land Rover’s apparent reluctance to sell its production hardware to Ineos, preferring a deal with Bowler instead, may have negative implications.
Land Rover played the desirable ‘classics’ game, when it announced, following 67 years’ worth of continuous production of its ‘old nail’ Defender model, in January 2016, that it was all over. British carmakers are as notorious as the British Broadcasting Corporation for refusing to change direction, for refusing resolutely to upgrade their productions, believing instead in some misbegotten idyll that maintaining the ‘status quo’ is less injurious to their business. If you seek a prime example, have a gander at Morgan, or the more recently defunct Bristol.
For more years than were frankly acceptable, with, or without a British Forces supply contract, Defender, in both short and long, as well as more specialised chassis forms, sold a consistent 10,000 units annually worldwide. While the warranty work was a nightmare, the bulletproof old dozer could be hammered back into shape and made to work with a degree of efficacy in some of the most remote locations worldwide.
At various stages in my motoring life, it had been an important vehicle, not least when I was the Press Officer for the Scottish Land Rover Owners’ Club during the late-1970s. I used to compete in a short-wheelbase diesel Defender. Yet, my long legs, while capable of fitting into a competition example, were sorely compromised in the road-going alternatives. I simply did not fit, which eliminated them from my road test roster.
However, even the agricultural community would complain vocally about the inadequacies of Defender. While it had developed a steady following and, even today, a lot of farmers swear by the relative integrity of their Landies and you can still spot them regularly on farmyards and in fields nationwide, a lot of them were replaced by Isuzu pickups and Mitsubishi Shoguns, both of which were indefatigably dependable, at a level that made the Defender laughably and anachronously inadequate.
Still, the classic car market weighed up the options and a mint condition Defender, notably of the pale green run-out series, while not exactly of pension plan loftiness (you would need an old Ferrari, or barn-find Bugatti for that privilege), could be worth at least twice its final price tag. However, even prior to production ending at Solihull, a controversy reared its head about the future of Defender, after all, Land Rover, even though it was working away behind the scenes on a new line-up, seemed to be in no hurry to reintroduce it, which was unusual to say the least and left a huge gap in the utilitarian 4×4 market segment.
In my ‘rush’ to get another carmaker to fill that vacancy, I spoke with Suzuki GB about importing a slew of stripped-out SJ413s (Jimny models) that it could seed corn rent to the farming community. Ultimately, very few would have been returned to Suzuki, once their users had become accustomed to the competence of the tiddler, which would have turned it into something of a ‘win:win’ situation. Only a couple of months ago, Suzuki announced that a van version of its latest Jimny model would be sold across Europe (but not necessarily in the UK), which suggests that my concept had fallen on deaf ears!
In the meantime, the cash-rich Ineos company had attempted to acquire the panel-bending and chassis-making hardware that was soon to be junked by Land Rover. For some reason, the discussions were unproductive and, in total frustration, Ineos managed to draw together a host of investors to build its own version of what a Defender might be. Instead, it has just been announced that Land Rover has given Bowler permission to produce vehicles using the classic Defender shape in the next phase of development for the UK-based manufacturer of all-terrain performance cars and rally raid vehicles.
The new agreement paves the way for Bowler to develop a new family of high-performance models, beginning with a project codenamed ‘CSP 575’, which is a new road-going vehicle underpinned by Bowler’s own rally-proven CSP high-strength steel chassis, aluminium alloy Defender 110 Station Wagon body panels and Land Rover’s 570bhp Supercharged V8 petrol engine. This project supplements the ongoing motorsport developments that are the foundation of Bowler’s past, present and future plans.
Founded in 1985, Bowler pioneered the production of dedicated off-road competition cars in the UK. JLR acquired Bowler at the end of 2019 and its expert team has been developing a number of exciting projects as part of the firm’s Special Vehicle Operations. In fact, the decision to issue Bowler with a licence agreement to build vehicles using the classic Defender shape is a natural progression of the relationship and the new station wagon project represents an unique undertaking, to integrate the technology, components and engineering that underpin Land Rover’s SV products, with Bowler’s motorsport expertise.
Michael van der Sande, Managing Director, Jaguar Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations, stated: “We’re excited to announce the first major project since our acquisition of Bowler. The ‘CSP 575’ will combine supercharged V8 performance and four-seat practicality with Bowler’s rally raid-proven platform, broadening the appeal of the brand. This high-performance road-going model will sit alongside Bowler’s evolving range of rally raid models, which continue to enjoy success in the world’s toughest motorsport events.”
The new model will be manufactured in low volumes at Bowler’s headquarters in Derbyshire, by the same engineers and technicians producing its competition 4x4s. With global appeal but targeted at customers in the UK, select European and overseas markets, indicative pricing for the new model is approximately £200,000 in the UK.
Calum McKechnie, General Manager at Bowler, outlined: “The Bowler name has stood for innovation for the past 35 years. The licence agreement to produce vehicles with the classic Defender shape gives us an unique opportunity. We’re excited to combine our motorsport experience with the expertise available from SVO, to produce a thrilling competition-inspired Defender 110 Station Wagon for the road.”
If you want more details, or to enquire about the new Bowler ‘CSP 575’ station wagon project, feel free to contact www.bowlermotors.com (which is likely to be the only ‘free’ element of the forthcoming new ‘supercar’!).
