Bolwell’s born-again Nagari outed

AUSTRALIAN manufacturer Bolwell Technologies has confirmed it will make its sportscar comeback at next week’s Motorclassica in Melbourne where its latest V8-powered Nagari 500 will be previewed.

Weighing less than 1000kg and powered by a mid-mounted Chevrolet LS3 V8 putting out 372kW of power, the Nagari 500 prototype’s public debut marks the 50th anniversary of the original Bolwell Nagari that was powered by a Ford V8 in 1969.

Although the original was made largely of fibreglass, the new model has a core built of carbon fibre and kevlar moulded in Bolwell’s own vacuum infusion system at its Seaford factory in Melbourne’s southern suburbs.

Bolwell expects to put the car into production next year, although pricing is yet to be announced.

The company’s last offering, the Nagari 300, was priced just below $200,000 when it was launched in 2008.

Unlike the original Nagari that found about 200 homes, the Nagari 300 sold sparely, mainly because it was as underpowered with its normally aspirated 3.5-litre Toyota V6 that originally was supposed to be supercharged before durability problems surfaced.

Company founder Campbell Bolwell said the V8 Nagari 500 would deliver supercar performance.

“We've had it out for a few drives, and it's a real supercar,” he 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.”

Early projections suggest the Nagari 500 should be able to sprint from zero to 100km/h in under 3.0 seconds.

The Nagari 500’s V8 is mounted longitudinally amidships and bolted on to a six-speed Audi gearbox. The driveshafts emerge from the front of the gearbox to power the rear wheels.

The double-wishbone suspension has pneumatically adjustable adaptive dampers, while the brakes are 355 mm ventilated and cross-drilled discs at the front.

Wheels are 19-inch alloys, 10.5 inches wide at the front and 12 inches wide at the back.

Bolwell says that although the Nagari 500 resembles the previous Nagari 300, every surface except the windscreen is different.

One notable change is the extra side window just behind the doors, replacing the heavy looking blanked out panel of the previous model.

The sportscar business is just a sideline for Bolwell which uses its fibreglass and composite manufacturing skills to make all manner of products in both Australia and Thailand.