Bowler Nemesis (2007)

The first Bowler competition cars came about in 1984, using a Land Rover Defender as a basis. Founded in Derby, the small UK company started by creating Cobra and Safari trial cars. Over the next 20 years, the company would evolve its initial concept to create some of the most competent, composed and fiercely competitive off-road vehicles.

Initially shortening a Defender chassis to 88” to form the Tomcat in 1989; after much success at national trial and hill rally events in the UK, the car would evolve to the 100” Wildcat. From here the car would achieve international fame in the Paris-Dakar rally throughout the 2000s. After entering its first Dakar in 2000, Bowler would become the second-largest factory team at the event, with the highest rate of finishers in just five years.

In 2007, Bowler announced the replacement for the Wildcat in the form of the Nemesis. Completed in time for the 2008 Paris-Dakar rally, the event was cancelled due to various terrorist alerts along the route. It was a mark of the company, though, that Bowler’s founder Drew paid back all of his customer’s lost deposits.

With the turbulence affecting the main competitive events at the time of launch, Bowler has built just 9 Nemesis’ to date.