Bowler Extreme Defender, the classic reinvented to be even more radical and capable

Bowler Manufacturing is a manufacturer and tuner of off-road vehicles capable of tackling the most demanding terrain and conditions. Based in Derbyshire with a small team of workers, the company gained fame for the quality of the conversions it carried out on Jaguar Land-Rover models, even working shoulder to shoulder with the British manufacturer to create a high-performance version of the current Defender.

The joint work went so far that Bowler’s craftsmanship on its tuning projects led Jaguar Land-Rover to take a major step: acquiring Bowler. This happened in 2019, so Bowler’s workforce was retained and the company began collaborating directly with SVO, Jaguar Land-Rover’s division for special vehicles. Since then the British tuner has delivered several builds to us, such as the Defender Challenger or a Defender created to celebrate 60 years of James Bond.

These two builds were based on the current Defender, but now Bowler is back with a very radical Defender built on the classic model. According to the company, this build will be fully valid for the Defender 90, 110 and 130 versions, and it uses a kit called Extreme that improves the Defender’s off-road capability in every way.

Just a glance at Bowler’s Defender Extreme shows that this is a radical job. At first sight we can see that its ride height has been increased, specifically by 51 mm, thanks to the Fast Road suspension kit, which also allows the fitting of 35-inch BFGoodrich tyres on 16-inch wheels that now look even more filled in thanks to the oversized wheel arches.

This even more imposing size is backed up by new bumpers, front and rear, which are lighter than the standard ones and also include new tow and recovery points. Added to this is an external roll cage that protects the bodywork and occupants, to which a roof rack and LED auxiliary lights are also mounted for better illumination.

The interior of the Defender Extreme has also been changed, although not as radically as the exterior. These changes include new seats by Recaro, a MOMO flat-bottomed steering wheel and a Bowler-designed gear lever in milled aluminium with a black finish. In addition, the roof lining has been replaced with Alcantara, the cabin has been soundproofed, and a new Alpine infotainment and navigation system has been fitted.

Mechanically, Bowler has fitted a new intercooler and reworked the engine control unit so that, taking the Defender 110 as a reference, power rises to 175 CV together with 450 Nm of torque; no power increase is specified for the other versions. Finally, the braking system has been upgraded with 334 mm discs on the front axle and 297 mm on the rear, now gripped by four-piston calipers.

Bowler has stressed that the Defender Extreme will be built only to order and in limited numbers each year. The final price has not been specified either, as it will vary depending on factors such as whether the customer supplies the vehicle or not.

Technical specifications of this car

Off-RoadLand Rover Defender23 versions · from 78,700 €