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Introducing The Bowler Defender Rally Car

Introducing The Bowler Defender Rally Car

In the rally world the Bowler Wildcat has been a car to reckon with for years. But there is a new car on the block and in this video, I’ll talk you through what a Land Rover Bowler Defender rally car is and how it varies from the base model Land Rover Defender 90. The Defender rally car is 300hp monster!

Watch the full video here:

If you missed it, you can see my Bowler Defender crash here:

Key Bowler Defender rally car conversion specifications:
• Land Rover Defender 90 P300 SE
• Engine 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo petrol
• Power/torque 296bhp/400Nm
• Transmission Eight-speed automatic, four-wheel drive
• 0-60mph 6.7 seconds
• Top speed 119mph (limited when in Bowler Mode)
• Economy 24.6mpg
• Fuel Capacity 90 litres
• Weight 2,065kg
• Monocoque bracing and full internal roll cage
• Internal spare wheel mount integrated to roll cage and rally jacking points

The girl on a bike Swapping my bike for Bowler Defender Rally Series

Performance
• Improved cooling – auxiliary radiators removed and increased airflow to main radiator •
• Sports exhaust system
• Bowler 18” wheels with increased strength
• BFGoodrich AT tyres
• Bespoke suspension design with modified subframes, new springs and unique turrets for increased stiffness
• Bespoke Fox racing dampers
• Race steering wheel with quick release boss

Bowler Defender Challenge

Electrical/systems
• ECU system integration with race box
• ABS/DSC – rally control modifications
• Navigator control unit for lights/washer/horn
• Cobra race sports seats with 6-point race harness suitable for use with Simpson hans devise and Stilo helmet
• Integrated and hand-held fire suppression
• Electrical cut-off switches – internal and external

More details on the Land Rover Bowler rally series here:

https://www.bowlermotors.com/bowler-defender-challenge/

If you’re new to my page – it’s more than just dirt bike riding and racing, I’m on a mission to prove that nothing is impossible if you want it bad enough. See more about my story plus read about my life changing accident, which started it all.

You can find me Vanessa, The Girl On A Bike over on InstagramFacebookTikTokLinkedIn and YouTube, and www.thegirlonabike.com.

Latest content Motorsports

My first public 4×4 rally with Bowler Defender

Rally Nuts Bowler rally in Wales

Taking on my next UK rally round in the Bowler Defender took me to mid-Wales for the Rally Nuts event. This was my first public rally and my nerves were high. However, upon arriving it was a great experience.

As a girl I’m often judged on arriving to a race, stereotyped in my blonde hair and long eyelashes. It was amazing that at my Bowler rally experience the Rally Nuts event in mid-Wales I was welcome with no sexism or judgment. You can watch the full race behind the scenes of me doing my second big 4×4 rally [first public event] in the Land Rover Bowler Defender. I hope you enjoy it.

Big learning for me…

The girl on a bike Swapping my bike for Bowler Defender Rally Series
The girl on a bike Swapping my bike for Bowler Defender Rally Series


It turns out trust is up there one of the most vital elements of four-wheel racing. As a driver the braking, correct lines, and acceleration are key but the biggest speed game is trusting your navigator. You’re in a 2.3 tonne Bowler Defender weapon powering into a corner and your natural instincts say come off the throttle but I can hear Chris Cuming shouting a fast right at me… foot stays flat trusting the input aligns to the corner and sure enough, the speed stays on, the corner opens and the pace is kept. My goodness, it gets the heart racing. I’ll be honest in that I definitely braked a few times when I shouldn’t have but that team trust is a huge new thing for me.

The girl on a bike
The girl on a bike Swapping my bike for Bowler Defender Rally Series

Chuffed to have climbed to a 2nd place finish in the category too for the Rally Nuts event… and only 1m8 seconds behind 1st!! Bring on the next race in Scotland.

Watch the full Bowler Defender rally car behind the scenes:

See my first Bowler Defender rally car race here:

If you’re new to my page – it’s more than just dirt bike riding and racing, I’m on a mission to prove that nothing is impossible if you want it bad enough. See more about my story plus read about my life changing accident, which started it all.

You can find me Vanessa, The Girl On A Bike over on InstagramFacebookLinkedIn and YouTube, and www.thegirlonabike.com.

Latest content Motorsports

My new addiction is a legal high – Bowler Defender Rally Series

My new addiction is a legal high – Bowler Defender Rally Series

“The Girl In A Bowler” happened! As a petrolhead whose bedroom wall as a 14-year-old was covered in Bowler Wildcat posters, even writing this pretty much blows my mind!

The girl on a bike Swapping my bike for Bowler Defender Rally Series


I can only describe rally driving with four wheels as being like LEGAL CRACK!! The buzz, the high, adrenaline of 2.3 tonnes is simply like nothing else!! There is going to be a full behind-the-scenes video series so follow Bowler Motors and subscribe to my channel so you don’t miss the action! This is the second video in the series but there are lots to come as I take on the UK rally series in the Bowler Defender rally car!

After a bitterly cold weekend in south Wales at Walters arena with @bowlermotors for the first round of the Defender Rally series I can confirm both me and the car survived! Having raced two and three wheels, I’ve taken on the mission to get 4 wheels under my belt.

I went into the weekend feeling like a rabbit in a headlight… ‘nervous’ would be an understatement. However, the Bowler program is designed for novices or competition veterans alike. Bowlers have basically taken a homologated Defender, stripped it back, designed, developed, and built the first production rally car in the world, AND THEN wrapped a full rally support offering around it!! Everything you need to go into a rally on four wheels! MENTAL.

The girl on a bike Swapping my bike for Bowler Defender Rally Series 1

They provide full training from navigation to wheel changes, to reading the terrain and picking the best lines, and will even pair you up with a co-pilot. The paddock is fully equipped with the highest skilled team you can imagine…straight out of the Land Rover Bowler engineering team! Even onsite catering for happy bellies.

My new addiction is like a legal high

And don’t worry there will be no less biking!! Number of vehicles … N+1=🏍️🚘🤪)
I’ve named him “Big Boy”….He’s a Bowler Defender 90 rally car… and yes I’m a driver (and I name everything)! I’m teaming up with the experience of Bowler to join their Customer Training program for 2023 and taking on the challenge to complete the UK rally series in this 2.3-tonne 300hp monster!! Have I ever raced 4×4 before? NO! But heck, everyone has to start somewhere, and with Bowler, I’ll have more experience than you can shake a stick at to coach me from zero knowledge to racing…so let’s go!!

Massive thanks to my copilot Cuming for trusting me enough to take on the challenge with me at round one.

Bowler Defender Rally Series https://www.bowlermotors.com/bowler-defender-challenge/

If you’re new to my page – it’s more than just dirt bike riding and racing, I’m on a mission to prove that nothing is impossible if you want it bad enough. See more about my story plus read about my life changing accident, which started it all.

You can find me Vanessa, The Girl On A Bike over on InstagramFacebookLinkedIn and YouTube, and www.thegirlonabike.com.

Latest content Motorsports

Swapping my bike for a 4×4

Swapping my bike for a 4×4 – Land Rover Defender

Well, that escalated! My number of wheels seems to have multiplied. This is a brand-new series…no, I will NOT be leaving bikes but there is room for more vehicles in life.

The girl on a bike Swapping my bike for a 4x4 10

I’m teaming up with the experience of Bowler to join their Customer Training program as a brand ambassador for 2023 and taking on the challenge to complete the UK rally series in this 2.3-tonne 300hp monster!! Have I ever raced 4×4 before? NO! But heck, everyone has to start somewhere, and with Bowler, I’ll have more experience than you can shake a stick at to coach me from zero knowledge to racing…so let’s go!!

This is part 1 – experiencing what the base model Land Rover Defender can do at the Eastnor training facility in England. I’ll take you behind the scenes of what a day with Land Rover looks like and this is the first step in my Bowler rally journey. Learning how the base model vehicle runs with the huge magnitude of technology inside that makes it so blinking capable…is so that when I get in the 300hp Bowler Defender rally car with ALL the technology turned off… I can tell the difference. Yikes.

If you’re new to my page – it’s more than just dirt bike riding and racing, I’m on a mission to prove that nothing is impossible if you want it bad enough. See more about my story plus read about my life changing accident, which started it all.

You can find me Vanessa, The Girl On A Bike over on InstagramFacebookLinkedIn and YouTube, and www.thegirlonabike.com.