Bowler's One-Off Military Truck Concept With a 300-HP Land Rover Turbodiesel Is Up for Grabs
A racing chassis with a V6 diesel packing 516 pound-feet of torque? Sign us up.
Two years before Jaguar Land Rover took over the company, off-road racing specialist Bowler sent its Rapid Intervention Vehicle (RIV) prototype to the 2017 Defence and Security Equipment International expo. Halfway between an extreme safari truck and a light utility vehicle ready for conflict zones, the RIV was built as a collaboration between Bowler and the U.K. Ministry of Defence. It showcased how Bowler's brand new Cross Sector Platform (CSP) could answer the call of a wide range of customers, starting with defense and emergency services.
Finished to military-grade standards, the Bowler RIV is powered by Land Rover's turbocharged V6 diesel tuned to 300 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque, sent through ZF's eight-speed automatic to an all-wheel-drive system with a two-speed transfer case. Thanks to its long-travel independent suspension and rigid spaceframe, once in low range, the RIV is pretty much as unstoppable as four-seater trucks can get. Switch the drivetrain back to high, and this prototype will show plenty of all-terrain speed as well because that's how they do things at Bowler.
With its riveted aluminum body and cleverly lightened chassis, the 2017 Bowler Rapid Intervention Vehicle is a modular vehicle with OEM JLR parts and a payload rating of 4,400 pounds. It is also rarer than Bowler's Bond-rated Spectre Defender pickups, or in fact any other racing truck they built around Land Rover's wildest powertrains.
