BOWLER DEFENDER CHALLENGE
I’VE HAD MY DRIVING DEITY EXPERIENCE. OR more accurately, the new Bowler Defender Challenge has handed it to me on a plate, because while it may look intimidating with its chunky tyres, stripped out interior and bombproof underbody protection, this short wheelbase 90 rally car is a softy designed to suit drivers of all abilities.
Bowler is reviving its one-make race series with this car. The Challenge first ran between 2014 and 2016, when competitors drove old Defenders with diesel engines, manual gearboxes and a tendency to roll over like submissive dogs.
This all-new version is based on the monocoqued P300 Defender, so features a turbocharged four-cylinder engine that usually makes 296bhp but breathes a bit freer here thanks to a less restrictive exhaust. Major changes were avoided to keep costs down (that purchase price gets you the car, the Bowler rally conversion and entry into the championship) so the standard eight-speed automatic gearbox also remains. Bowler reckons that’ll be great for newbies, though, as you can progress from leaving it in auto to using the new column mounted paddle shifter.
It’s massively confidence inducing and Fox Racing dampers mean that you can launch it into the air and it’ll barely rebound on touchdown. Electronic nannies have had to be switched off including the traction control and stability control too. This is as analogue as the new Defender will get, and it’s bloody brilliant.