Jaguar Land Rover announced today it has purchased UK-based off-road performance specialist Bowler. The company will become a new subsidiary for the automaker's Special Vehicle Operations division.

Bowler has been around since 1985, modifying vehicles for off-road competition with great international success. In 2012 the company joined forces in a partnership with Land Rover to form the Defender Challenge, a one-make series consisting of ultra-cool Defender rally cars, like the one shown above, which ran from 2014 to 2016.

Jaguar Land Rover said in a press release that Bowler's expertise "for all-terrain vehicle dynamics, low-volume production techniques, and proving the durability of components under extreme conditions is highly sought-after," so bringing the off-roader company into the business "is a natural fit."

Jaguar Land Rover says the Bowler will continue to operate in its current Belper, UK headquarters for the foreseeable future, offering its products and customer support. We're curious to see what sorts of wild ideas JLR has in store for the Bowler brand.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io