Michael Satterfield
TGR Staff – 07/31/2011
Bowler — bought recently by Coventry-based prototype maker CPP, which also owns Spyker and is in talks to buy Zagato — makes 15 to 20 rally raid vehicles a year, purely for racing. Haywood believes there is demand for 150 to 200 road-going versions a year, from customers who drive in extreme conditions and need a vehicle even tougher than higher-volume 4x4s.
“We have a tremendous opportunity,” he says. “Bowler has generated huge interest in past years for a street-legal version of the competition cars. But we’ll begin work on any new model quite slowly, taking care with its positioning and specifications, keeping all the recognition devices to maintain the pedigree, and listening carefully to the customer’s requirements.”
Haywood says Land Rover is happy with the way Bowler modifies its vehicles, and believes it provides “a nice halo” for the Gaydon-based 4×4 specialist, but there is no “business alignment” between the two.
Source: Autocar
Source: Autocar
