Jaguar Land Rover has bought Bowler

Jaguar Land Rover has bought up one of TG’s favourite purveyors of fast, mad off-road things: Bowler.

Yes, that Bowler. The company behind the wild, um, Wildcat, and a lightly deranged 440bhp supercharged Defender. And other amazing toys, of course.

It’s been taken over by JLR’s Special Vehicle Operations division, but the ties go much further back: Bowler and Land Rover formed a ‘brand partnership’ back in 2012, resulting in the Defender Challenge by Bowler race series.

Bowler, then, will sit alongside SVO’s SV, Vehicle Personalisation and Classic divisions. SVO boss Michael van der Sande said: “For almost 35 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.

“It’s exciting that we’re now in a position to participate in and lead the Bowler brand’s future as part of Jaguar Land Rover.”

SVO said it is “eager” to start working with the Bowler team, hinting at future JLR models with a lot of Bowler garnish sprinkled over them. Watch this space.