Bolwell Models
MKIV
After the first three hobby cars, they turned their minds towards creating their ideas into a business and designed the Bolwell MkIV. It was manufactured in component form and sold in kits, so that the buyer could nominate their favourite engine, gearbox, and other part which they wanted in their vehicle, and then assemble their vehicle themselves.
Although the car was designed for a Ford Cortina 1600 c.c. 4 cylinder engine, other alternatives were available including Peugeot 4 cylinder, Ford Falcon and Holden grey six cylinder engines. The car body was offered in either a gull-wing door hardtop or open convertible style.
In their first year some 55 units were sold, predominantly the open convertible with a Ford Cortina engine and over 200 by the time the Mk1V was pensioned off. The brothers were strongly influenced, it was said, by Lotus and Elva designs. These marques used to dominate the U.K. motor racing scene in those days. Although none of the brothers had an automotive engineering or design background, they produced a low slung, sleek profiled machine that obviously captured a certain market. Its design was dominated by smooth flowing wings over the wheels. The body had one piece lift-up bonnet, in the style of the Triumph Spitfire and the Jaguar E-Type, underneath which was a tubular space framed chassis, similar to an Elva of the period.
By the time they had updated the design, called the MkIV/B, they had decided that a monocoque design was simpler, quicker, and cheaper to produce. A lot of development work went into the upgraded design, which also had a great deal more strength.
MKV
The next version, the Mk V produced in 1965, combined new developments from Europe reported in the press, with improvements from their own individual imaginations. The MKV was more of a road car, and the manufacturing side of the new business was becoming better organised and more professional.
The brothers decided to use components from just one source, that being a Holden, a model which was produced in the factory of General Motors, Australia, which was and still is a local icon. This meant that clients could purchase spare parts through Holden's country-wide spare parts network. Only the steering was from another manufacturer, BMC. The Mk V kept the so called swoopy profile of its predecessor, but some thought that the back window was a little too bulbous, resembling a Jensen Interceptor. 75 MKV coupes were made up to 1966.
MKVI
The Bolwell brothers' next development which was called the MKVI, (SR6) and was a one-off mid-engine racing car which was not intended for commercial production but raced very successfully in various Australian sports car events. The vehicle is still around today.
To quote from the book Great Australian Sports Cars by Mike McCarthy, on Bolwells- "Yes, there was a Mk 6. The one and only of its kind, the Mk 6 was an open two seater sort of an enlarged Lotus 23 but using Holden parts including Australia’s own six-cylinder engine sitting behind the cockpit where it was adapted to a back-to-front. It first raced on 22/11/69 fitted with a Repco Holden engine and a modified VW transaxle, then later with a red 202 Holden and a Mark 5 Hewland transaxle The SR6 is now generally in its 1976 format."
SPECIFICATIONS: Holden 6 cylinder "red" motor (approx HP 250), triple Weber carburetors, steel crank, roller rockers, Hewland FT 200 transaxle, fully adjustable independent front & rear suspension 10"x13' front alloy rims/14"x13" rear alloy rims Girlock alloy disk calipers. Timed top speed 156 MPH. For various reasons including excessive cost and complexity, the marque didn’t reach production. The car was originally built in 1968/9 which blew up during it's initial practice. , with stretched 186 motor. triple 45 DCOE Webers, steel crank.
MKVII
Then, came the start of something big. The next version was the Bolwell MKVII. It was a sleek, fastback coupe that maintained the Holden components theme with more than a hint of Ferrari styling. Like the Lotus Elan, it had a backbone chassis, formed by folded sheet metal.
The rear axle was held in place by trailing arms and radius rods, with coil springs and telescopic dampers. The top speed broke the 200 kmp (125mph) limit and was an exciting car to drive. During a six year period (1967-1972), 400 units received registration plates, making Bolwell Australia's fifth largest vehicle manufacturer. It was still predominantly manufactured in kit form, but a number of complete cars were also built by the factory.
Just before the model hit the market, Graeme left for a working holiday in the U.K. where he spent five months working for Colin Chapman at the Lotus factory in Cheshunt, just north of London.
Lotus at that time was making track winning cars from Le Mans to Silverstone and even formula one. Graeme took a keen interest in the new Lotus developments, as well as the competition. He saw the possibilities of combining European elegance with the Australian grunt of a large V8 engine.
But it was also the small things that he wanted in the new Bolwell. MkVII's already used folding steel hinges for the bonnet, but Graeme was amazed to see that Lotus glass cast ferrules into the body work, with bonnets and boots anchored to them.
MKVIII - NAGARI
On his return, Bolwells worked on the MKVIII, which came out in 1969 while the MKVII was still in production The fish mouthed "E-type" front was replaced by a redesigned wedge-shaped nose. Graeme acknowledged that the rear screen was very much like the Lotus Europa and that the doors were similar to the Lamborghini Muira.
But the tail was pure Bolwell, although the shape had to be tempered to take proprietary tail-lights (similar to the Aston Martin DB6). For the first time a Bolwell had protection with the bolt-in front and rear bumpers, a design breakthrough by Bolwell. But the biggest change came with the power plant and other components.
The MKVIII moved from Holden to Ford power, utilising a 302 or 351 cubic inch V8 engine to propel the 920 kg. body and its occupants - a very light-weight, very high powered car. Other changes were just as significant. The new vehicle was given a name, the Nagari.
The whole vehicle was produced in the factory to turn-key finish, and became the best known Bolwell. The transmission was a Ford top-loader. The MKVIII design came initially from the MkVII body, which they first reinforced so that it would hold its shape and then built up into the new shape they wanted.
At manufacture stage, the body of the Nagari was made in one piece, just like the Lotus, unlike the previous technique of making sections in individual moulds and glassing them together. In 1972 a convertible was introduced and this had its "Y" forked chassis strengthened and steel reinforced. 127 coupes and 13 convertibles were made.
MKIX - IKARA
During the fifties and sixties, the halcyon days, sports cars were less compromising and offered no pretense of sophistication or luxury. Expectations rose in the seventies, and the Nagari evolved as more of a grand tourer.
It was against this background that Campbell conceived his next and last vehicle. In 1979 the Ikara (Mkix) was born. But he decided it had to be different - different from the past and different from the competition. First the body was to be extremely light, and he reverted back to the space frame chassis. Instead of doors, it had step over sills, just like that of the Elfin Clubman of the sixties. High strength-to-weight fibreglass body panels and a mid-engined configuration, made the Ikara a real driver's car. It has a VW 1600 Golf single overhead camshaft power plant and a manual 4 speed transmission.
The motor could be converted to use either natural gas or diesel as well as gasoline. It produced 180bhp. Everything about it was super lightweight. A high raked windscreen and targa enclosed roll bar enhanced the simple styling. Twelve were made and sold in Australia and overseas, and then the concept was sold to a company in Greece.
MKX - NAGARI 2008
"Fifty years ago I had a dream - to design and build sports cars.
Today, I am proud to present to you the 2008 Bolwell Nagari.
It is the culmination of many years of taking concepts and ideas and making them into real, tangible products. From building my very first sports car at the age of sixteen, through the production of over 800 cars in the 60’s and 70’s, our evolution saw us become one of Australia’s leading manufacturers of composite fibre technology, supplying some of the biggest names in industry.
Creation of the 2008 Bolwell Nagari brings together the talents of our managers, designers, engineers and craftsmen, whose combined effort successfully transformed one man’s dream into an exciting reality. It is a fitting tribute to their unwavering dedication to the project, achieving well beyond what many thought possible."
Campbell Bolwell
Melbourne, Australia
