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At
the close of stage 12 of the 2004 Dakar Rally, five of the eight Land
Rover based Bowler Wildcat vehicles remain in the running, proving that
these vehicles are based on one of the best 4x4s by far - the Land Rover
Defender.
Leading
the charge in what is rapidly becoming one of the toughest competitions
in the Rally's history is Belgian driver Jackie Loomans, who protected
his 14th place throughout stage 12 (out of 144 starters and 71
remaining), putting the Wildcat delegation several places ahead of many
of the factory works teams from Japan and Germany.
Commenting
on his progress up the field, Loomans said: "We don't look to the
others, we don't look at the standings - we just do our own thing. We
have only suffered a puncture so far, and if our luck continues in this
way for the remaining five stages this can be an excellent Dakar for
us."
Stage
12 also saw the Belgian awarded the 'Total Fair Play' trophy, for
donating his spare tyre to a fellow competitor who was only two places
behind the Wildcat at the time.
The
Bowler Wildcat is a purpose built race vehicle designed to compete in
top level off-road racing events using standard-build Land Rover
components from the Defender and Discovery models. It is designed and
built by a small Derbyshire company, Bowler Off-Road, which is supported
by Land Rover. History
The development of the current wildcat
goes back some 20 years. The core vehicle has always been Land Rover.
1984
- FIRST BOWLER ARC SPEC PROTOTYPE - 88 INCH LAND ROVER CHASSIS
CONVERTED TO COIL SPRINGS WITH A 2200 TWIN CARB ENGINE
1986
- FIRST CUSTOMER VEHICLE - BUILT FROM A RANGE ROVER CHASSIS CUT TO 88''
WHEEL BASE FOR ARC REGULATIONS
1989 - BOWLER 88'' TOMCAT
- THE CAR THAT FIRMLY ESTABLISHED BOWLER
VEHICLES IN THE FIELD OF OFF ROADMOTOR SPORT
1995
- BOWLER 100'' TOMCAT - WITH ITS LONGER WHEELBASE THIS VEHICLE
WAS
MORE SUITED FOR SPEED EVENTS IT QUICKLY GAINED RECOGNITION AS ONE OF THE
MOST SUCCESSFUL OFF ROAD RACE VEHICLES TO DATE.
1997
- BOWLER WILDCAT 100 -
THIS WAS THE FIRST BOWLER VEHICLE REGISTERED AS NEW -P450 DNU- IT USED
THE SAME WHEELBASE AS THE TOMCAT 100 BUT HAD A TUBULAR CHASSIS RESULTING
IN A MUCH LIGHTER AND CONSEQUENTIALLY FASTER VEHICLE
2000
- BOWLER WILDCAT 200 -
THIS VEHICLE HAS A LIGHTWEIGHT TUBULAR CHASSIS WITH A FULL ROLL CAGE,
TOTALLY RESTYLED BODY AND 106 INCH WHEELBASE FOR THE ULTIMATE IN OFF
ROAD STABILITY AT SPEED
Visit:
www.bowler-offroad.com
Land Rover
Defender Racing |
