Founded in the 1950's by Campbell
Bolwell and his two brothers, Winston and Graeme,
with the idea of building low volume high performance
sports cars. Each brother developed their own
design through the 1960's, in the main using parts
salvaged from pre and post World War II wrecks.
Bolwell then grew from hobby-car manufacturer to serious kit-car
manufacturer with the release of the Mk. IV, and in the process gained
an ever growing following of loyal devotees, who
liked the idea of choosing their own mechanicals.
In 1967 Bolwell released the Mk. VII, for the
first time the purchaser being able to choose
to have the car assembled by the factory. The
high point came in 1969 with the release of the
Mk. VIII Nagari, many design innovations being
incorporated following Graeme Bolwell's return
from a working holiday in the UK, much of his
time being spent with Lotus - although the use
of the Ford 302 or 351ci V8's added considerably
to the allure.
The company lost its way by 1979, trying to
create a futuristic grand tourer that looked a
little to kit-car esque, only able to reach sales
of 20 in Australia before the concept was sold
to a company in Greece.
The Bolwell Mk IV can be considered the first serious
commercial model to be released, following the previous
"hobby" versions. The Mk IV was manufactured in component
form and sold as a kit, meaning the purchaser had to
either assemble the car themselves, or pay someone to
do it. More
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1965
The Bolwell Mk V was produced in 1965, and combined both
the latest European developments with the Bolwell brothers
own individual ideas of what would make for a superior
sports car. More
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1968
While the Bolwell Mk V was designed for general consumption,
the Bolwell brothers' set about designing a race special,
the resultant Mk VI (SR6) being a mid-engined masterpiece
that was raced very successfully in various Australian
sports car events – and is still around today! More
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1967 - 1972
The Bolwell MK VII marked the start of something big.
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. More
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1969 - 1972
On Graeme Bolwells return from a working holiday in the
UK (with much time spent at Lotus), work soon commenced
on the MK VIII. In fact this new model was released in
1969 while the MK VII was still in production! More
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1979
During the halcyon days of the fifties and sixties, sports
cars were less compromising and offered no pretense of
sophistication or luxury. Expectations rose during the
1970's (led in many ways by Mercedes seeking to make their
expensive sports cars appealing to the Hollywood Boulevard
brigade). More>>
