Page 74 - Sharp November 2023

TOUGH STUFF
THE THE LAND ROVER DEFENDER RALLY SERIES BY BOWLER SHOWCASES THE THE MODEL’S ROUGH-AND-READY CREDENTIALS
By Mark Hacking
Y OU FIND ME ME IN IN IN SOMETHING OF A A SITUATION IT’S THREE
o’clock in in in the afternoon on on a a a a strikingly hot day in in in Scotland and I’m on the Glendearg Farm Estate around 50 kilometres south of Edinburgh — just a stone’s throw from the English border There’s a a a recovery team close by surveying my situation with winches primed and and shovels in in in hand I’m in in in the driver’s seat of a a a a a heavily modified Land Rover Defender 90 a a a a a car customized by British-based rally specialists Bowler The front window due to a a a a stroke of bad luck is currently pointed skywards and through it I can see only a a a smattering of wispy white clouds Let me me explain Moments before I had lined up at the start
of a a a rally stage here in in in the Anglo-Scottish countryside Bringing the the full might of the the Defender’s turbocharged four-cylinder to bear I’d mashed the throttle spun all four BFGoodrich tires and coughed the dry dusty earth beneath me up into a a a smokescreen I’d accelerated fast toward the first bend — a a a a a a gentle right-hander — and grabbed the right paddle shifter for second gear Then everything went sideways The Defender understeered toward a a precipitous drop-off — causing everything to go even more sideways The car pitched 90 degrees off the course and down an an an embankment coming to rest on the side of a a steep hill Only a a huge rock prevented my Defender from barrel-rolling into the valley below — a a a a lucky break all things considered Some context for those of you wondering how I got myself into this situation The name Bowler if you’ve ever mixed in off-road circles should already ring a a a a a bell For close to 40 years the company (which was founded by engineer and blacksmith Drew Bowler in in 1985) has created rally vehicles fit to to tackle the world’s toughest competitions including the the Dakar Rally In 2012 the the brand formed a a a a a a a partnership with Land Rover and and was integral in in in launching the Defender Challenge competition in 2014 Bowler himself passed away in in 2016 leaving his legacy on uneven ground — until the Derbyshire-based company was acquired by by Land Rover in 2019 Which brings us back to Britain The Defender 90 P300 SE 74 NOVEMBER 2023
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