Bolwell unveils ‘Nagari 500’
Bolwell, Australia’s best-known independent sports car manufacturer, may have been quiet of late, but they certainly haven’t been inactive.
Since the Bolwell Mk X, aka Nagari 300, was unveiled in 2008, there’s been little in the way of news - or new product – from the brand. That all changed in October, with the all-new ‘Nagari 500’ making its debut at the Motorclassica Concours d’Elegance and Classic Motor Show.
Marking 50 years since the original Nagari was released, the new Nagari 500 will go into production in 2020.
The small team behind its production, led by Bolwell Technologies founder Campbell Bolwell and his brother Graeme, are mainly the same people who worked on the preceding Nagari 300, with some also part of the development of the original Nagari five decades ago
Return to V8
One of the most notable aspects of the Nagari 500 is the return of a V8 engine. The previous Nagari 300 ran a 3.5-litre Toyota V6, with the option of natural aspiration or supercharging, but the original Nagari (also known as the Bolwell Mk VIII) from 1970 ran a contemporary Ford V8 – usually a 302, but 351s were also fitted.
The new Nagari 500 uses a Chevrolet LS3 V8 that will produce a claimed 372kW (500hp) in this application. The transmission hadn’t been confirmed at time of writing, but release images indicate a 6-speed manual. This is another deviation from the Nagari 300, which was initially offered with only a 6-speed automatic, although a manual was developed later.
Bolwell are claiming sub-3.0-second 0-100km/h times from this drivetrain package and “the handling and braking that only a very light car can deliver”. In this instance, “very light” means less than 1,000kg, which is about on a par with the Nagari 300.
Measuring the Nagari 500 against the McLaren F1, Lotus Esprit V8 and new C8 Corvette, Bolwell claim lighter overall weight for superior performance characteristics.
“We’ve had it out for a few drives, and it's a real supercar,” Campbell Bolwell said.
“As with the original Nagari, this is a proper road car – it’s hugely powerful, but you can drive it to the shops. It even has a boot.”
The suspension - dual wishbones all round - features pneumatically-adjustable adaptive dampers, while braking is made up of 355mm ventilated and cross-drilled discs, with ABS. Wheels are 19x10.5-inch at the front and 19x12-inch at the rear, with 265/35ZR19 (front) and 305/30ZR19 (rear) tyres.
New Body
While the Nagari 500 looks like the 300 at first glance, there are many differences, with Bolwell stating the only carryover item is the windscreen.
Less shovel-nosed and more rounded than the 300, the Nagari 500 nevertheless runs some familiar styling cues from that model, including the head and tail light treatment, flying buttresses at the rear and large side air inlets.
Differences include the integrated rear spoiler, repositioned fuel filler (now ahead of the windscreen), exposed transaxle and a single windscreen wiper.
The body itself is made from carbon-kevlar composite, using a closed-moulding vacuum infusion process developed by Bolwell themselves.
Inside, there are some production car components in use for items like the steering wheel, combination switches and door handles, while an Alpine sat nav and what looks like Recaro seats have been fitted to the prototype.
Further details and specification information on the Nagari 500 will be revealed closer to its release.
