Bowler, a niche automotive company owned by Jaguar Land Rover since late 2019, has been entrusted with resurrecting the first-gen Defender SUV on modern tech.
The company used to build the extreme and rally-friendly EXR-S SUV (watch the video for more), but discontinued it with the passing of its founder Andrew Bowler in 2016.
The way things are looking now, LR Special Vehicle Operations wants to steal customers from INEOS Automotive, whose boss Jim Ratcliffe had also intended to produce modern Defender replicas, but failed to obtain the license and instead designed a rogue spin-off model called the Grenadier. Unlike the latter, the Bowler Defender will be an officially sanctioned vehicle that won’t run the risk of being pulled from the market.
The car should premiere in early 2021, and in the meantime, we may have a look at some of its early sketches. Overall, the off-roader looks like a Defender 110 Station Wagon with a heavy-duty frame, a roll cage, fully independent suspension and a powerful engine. Called the CSP 575 by the manufacturer, the model likely packs the supercharged 575-HP (430-kW) V8 5.0 of the Range Rover Sport SVR.
What else do we know? It is a road-legal model that has four large individual seats and air conditioning. It will emerge in a limited production run, and prices in Great Britain will reach as high as £200,000. Sales are scheduled for the second half of 2021.
Rumor has it that Bowler intends to use its ties with the SVO to launch other LR-themed vehicles later on.