Peaklander Posted December 18, 2019 Share Posted December 18, 2019 Not sure if this is widely known but I just came across this article stating that JLR have bought Bowler out of administration. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2019/12/18/jaguar-land-rover-rescues-off-road-racer-bowler-administration/ Here is the text of the article, as it might need an account to view: Jaguar Land Rover has bought niche car manufacturer Bowler out of administration. Founded in 1985, Bowler hand-built small numbers of vehicles for rallies and offroad racing, turning Land Rovers into high-performance all-terrain vehicles. The company had struggled for the past few years. It collapsed into administration earlier this week, with JLR’s special vehicle operations (SVO) arm buying the business for an undisclosed amount, saving the jobs of Bowler’s 26 permanent staff. Micahel van der Sande, head of JLR SVO, said: “For almost 25 years the Bowler name has stood for innovation and success, with a reputation forged by its participation in the world’s toughest off-road motorsport competitions. “Adding the Bowler team’s skills to ours is a key step in our strategy to create and exciting and diverse portfolio of products.” JLR said that Bowler’s expertise in “all-terrain vehicle dynamics, low-volume production techniques, and proving the durability of components under extreme conditions” is “highly sought after” and a “natural fit” for the carmaker’s specialist arm. Founder Drew Bowler, who died suddenly in 2016, produced race-winning vehicles that competed in events including the Dakar rally, and claimed several prestigious wins in motorsport. JLR linked up with Bowler in 2012, forming a partnership that led to the creation of the Defender Challenge, an event to prepare competitors for the Dakar rally. JLR said that Bowler would remain at its base in Belper, Derbyshire, for the “foreseeable future”, hinting that it could in future relocate to JLR's technical centre in Warwickshire, where the SVO unit is based. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted December 18, 2019 Share Posted December 18, 2019 On JLR website https://www.jaguarlandrover.com/news/2019/12/jaguar-land-rover-acquires-all-terrain-performance-specialist-bowler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daan Posted December 18, 2019 Share Posted December 18, 2019 Interesting that JLR jumped in. I had noticed things were a bit quiet around Bowler. I suppose to keep paying 26 people permanent staff, there needs some serious cash flow going around and that is never easy in Motorsport. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alsace_rangie Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 If only they might consider ramping up production.... Parts of the armed forces might be interested! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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