Bolwell News

With all the recent news about local car manufacturing, you could be forgiven for thinking Australia has only ever built Fords, Holdens and Toyotas. But in fact, we've got a long, varied - and often quite weird - car building history. From a bugeyed oddity spawned by a company who honed their skills on washing

Former Victorian sports car manufacturer Bolwell is now making lightweight caravans such as its new Air compact expandable camper. The Air costs $32,990 drive away and is just like Bolwell's sports cars - small, light and aerodynamic. With a weight of just over one tonne and a ball weight of 100kg, it can be towed by a wide variety of vehicles. Together with its low drag coefficient, it adds up to good fuel economy for the tow vehicle. But the most novel characteristic of the compact caravan is its ability to expand the main body without canvas. The lack of canvas means it is quieter, more secure and better insulated from weather extremes with foam core insulation throughout. The caravan can be quickly expanded to create a big interior with wide opening windows on all sides. Air will sleep three with an oversize double bed and dinette seating that converts to an extra single bed. There is a lot of storage space in the small caravan. It has twin front storage pods with galvanised mesh utility tray, a rear tunnel boot, front and rear storage tubes for annex poles or fishing rods and clever external access to the under-bed storage. You can also add a large lockable front storage boot for $550 and roof racks for $395. It sits on 14-inch steel wheels with 16-inch alloys a $590 option. Standard features include blockout blinds, fly screens, three-burner cooktop and sink with draining board, 82-litre water tank, 105Ah deep cycle absorbed glass mat battery, microwave, CD/radio audio system and internal and external 12V accessory outlets. You can also customise the Air with items such as a better audio system, a bigger battery, Hitchmaster DO35 coupling, airconditioner and a canvas annexe. Bolwell also makes a Nautica V-nose that attaches to the roof. The alloy punt is 3.55m long and costs $1995. There is also a short-chassis option at no extra cost. Campbell Bolwell began making sports cars in his parents' garage when he was 16. In 1962 he opened the doors to his Bolwell company and built and sold more than 800 sports cars over the next 20 years. Since 1982 Bolwell has built cabins, hoods, fairings and other components for about 30,000 Kenworth trucks, plus Australian military vehicle components and aerospace products. Moving into caravans in 20120 was a natural progression as it uses similar materials and manufacturing processes. Their caravan bodies do not use rivets and screws. The separate parts of the body are bonded with powerful industrial strength glues that chemically weld the material at a molecular level, creating a strong, corrosion-resistant structure. The Air is the second caravan in Bolwell's range after the $59,999 Edge luxury rough-terrain tourer. It features similar lightweight body construction and aerodynamic design with a heavy duty chassis, independent trailing arm suspension, urethane stone chip protection, steel mesh reinforced door and foam core insulation.    

Bolwell, a success on racetracks and in showrooms in the past, has turned from its V8 sports cars and Kenworth truck bodies to new-age caravans.  It is unveiling a multi-function tow-along called The Edge and using the Melbourne Leisurefest from September 30 to spread the word. The Edge is an aerodynamically-style van made from moulded composite, designed for off-road work and suitable for towing by something as compact as a Subaru Outback.  It's the work of Vaughan Bolwell, a designer with experience in everything from racing bicycles to trucks. Bolwell RV claims the van combines low weigtht and low drag with aerodyamic stability. It is constructed from moulded fibreglass reinforced with carbon fibure. Bolwell began working on The Edge in 2008 and the final result has a number of claimed innovations. The body is bonded, not riveted or screwed, and is fitted with Bolwell's own SureFoot independent trailing-arm suspension. Leisurefest runs at Sandown Racecourse from September 30 to October 3 with a wide range of activities, from off-road towing training to a license course for recreational boating. There is a also an off-road track run by experts from Four Wheel Drive Victoria. The Bolwell name first hit the road in the 1960s That's when Campbell Bolwell, just 16, began making sports cars in his parents' garage.  His company began operating in 1962 and over the next 20 years more than 800 cars were produced, some as complete 'turn-key' cars and others as kits that were assembled by their owners. The most famous is the Nagari, which could be powered by a range of V8 engines and was raced successfully around Australia.  Campbell decided to produce another sports car in 2005 and by 2008 he had a concept Nagari that was re-born as a carbon fibre-bodied speedster. But Bolwell's big business in recent years is in the commercial world, where it does everything from building cabins, hoods and fairings for Kenworth trucks to repairing Boeing 737 jet engine plenums.

It's been nearly 30 years but the name Bolwell is poised to be driving into Australian car-making history yet again. Picking up the name of its 1970s coupe, the Bolwell Nagari started production last month and director Owen Bolwell — son of founder Campbell — won't exceed 25 units a year. "That's the maximum number a small-volume manufacturer can build and sell before we're required to start crash testing," he said. The first person who will own the latest Nagari — which is priced from $198,000 — is an un-named West Australian involved in the mining industry. He put his deposit down — car unseen — at Bolwell's reveal at last year's Melbourne Motor Show. The Nagari follows the principles of Campbell's 1970s model with a lightweight body and a high-performance engine. But where the predecessor had a fibreglass body over a steel backbone chassis and a front engine driving the rear wheels, the latest gets a carbon-fibre passenger `tub’ with alloy sub-frames and a rear-mounted, transverse V6 supplied by Toyota. The base Nagari gets a tweaked 220kW 3.5-litre V6 from the Toyota Aurion but there is the option of one with a Sprintex supercharger. It is available as a six-speed sequential automatic with steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters though a six-speed manual will be optional. Performance potential is shown by the Nagari's light 920kg weight. Owen Bolwell didn't release acceleration data though indicated that the supercharger would be "for those who don't mind losing their licence". "We aimed to create a very high-performance sports car that could double as a spacious, comfortable and well-equipped car that could be driven each day," Owen said. Underpinnings include double-wishbone suspension with fully-adjustable springs and dampers, power steering with tilt/telescopic adjustment and ventilated ABS brakes. Features are leather sports seats, airconditioning and cruise control with including a Polaris GPS stereo unit with sat-nav and rear camera. The Bolwell Car Company, a division of industrial fibreglass firm Bolwell Corporation of which Owen and brother Vaughn are directors, will start delivery of the Nagari early next year.  

Its maker, Campbell Bolwell, founded his company in 1962 with his two brothers and an idea of what an Australian made and built sports car should be – still an Aussie V8, and rear-drive, but lighter than a tonne and made to hug corners as well as haul on the straights. It is arguably one of the timeliest, and timeless, sports cars ever built in Oz. Much in the same way as its forefather, the new Nagari prototype – yes, this is still essentially a concept - is lightweight at about 900kg, powerful thanks to a supercharged V6, and maintains exclusivity through a limited number of hand-built beauties, and with a triple-figure price tag. Another tradition is its borrowed body parts. While the engine is no longer supplied by Ford, the company still has a hand in parts of the car – in the shape and cues of its late business partner, Aston Martin. Some of the interior and instrumentation is pure DBS. Instead of a V8 up front, the new Nagari features a Supra-style supercharged Toyota V6 located behind the seats for optimal weight distribution and handling. Matched to a Toyota manual, it should be similar in performance to the 3.5-litre supercharged engine in the TRD Aurion. Bolwell are also investigating an electric powerplant for the car. Its low kerb weight and moulded engine bay makes it a sure-fire prospect for full-electric battery power. The first of the much anticipated production models are due in November.  The numbers will be kept small to keep both the boutique manufacturer moniker, and to avoid lengthy and expensive crash testing and ADR requirements. The car will cost "somewhere between $200,000 and $300,000 depending on options," said company director Vaughan Bolwell. They may build 25. They may build 25 a year. But whatever they do, it will be different from the norm, and deliciously Australian. You can see the Nagari up close and personal at the Supercar Central stand at the show.

Born of a Ford V8 and a man’s idea of a sports car, the Bolwell Nagari Mk8 first hit Australian roads almost 40 years to this, the year of its reincarnation.