1970 Bolwell Nagari 302ci V8 Coupe

Description

Arguably Australia’s finest sports car, the Bolwell Nagari combined stunning looks and solid engineering with electrifying performance and remains hugely collectible today. From humble origins, the company founded by brothers Campbell, Winston and Graeme Bolwell in 1962 began building sports cars in component kit form and grew steadily through the 1960s to become a fully fledged manufacturer. The first model produced in quantity was the Mark IV of 1963, with over 200 built in component form - the buyer was left to supply the running gear and carry out final assembly. The low-slung bodywork was made from fibreglass, either in gullwing hardtop or roadster guises, and Ford’s Cortina 1600 running gear the most popular choice of motive power. Although early Bolwells used a separate tubular space-frame chassis, the design was updated into a stronger, lighter (and cheaper to manufacture) monocoque on the Mark IVB. With the Mark V, Bolwell moved towards serious production, and Holden’s six-cylinder motor became the preferred engine. Following on from the one-off sports-racing Mark VI, Bolwell’s next road-going model, the Mark VII of 1966 was a more sophisticated car in every way. Following Lotus practice, the car had a backbone chassis of folded sheet metal, with suspension following the best race car practice and a very attractive fastback body strongly influenced by contemporary exotics like the Jaguar E-Type and the Ferrari GTO. The Mark VII was powered by Holden’s 186S six with either a GM-sourced three-speed manual or Triumph four-speed gearbox. The ultimate development was Bolwell’s Mark VIII, named the Nagari (an aboriginal word meaning “flowing”), the company’s first real production model. The Nagari switched to Ford running gear for the first time, with the choice of either a 302 or 351-cid V8 and Ford also supplied various other components, including the Top Loader four-speed gearbox. The Nagari’s fibreglass body highlights the depth of Bolwell’s commitment to research and development, being molded in one piece, with doors the cut into the roof section to aid access to the cabin. The chassis was beefed up to handle the additional power and the Nagari even had unique alloy wheels, initially of a two-piece design (later becoming a single cast item). There was even a convertible, badged the Sports, introduced in 1972. With so little weight to move the Bolwell was a stunning performer, capable of achieving a top speed in excess of 200 km/h and could reach the quarter mile in just 14.8 seconds. Often likened to Australia’s TVR, the Nagari was always produced in limited numbers, with an estimated 118 made between 1970 and 1974. There is still a strong following for the Nagari today, with several clubs providing owners with excellent support and parts remain relatively easy to source.