Australian Muscle Car 2020-02

Breaking the mould... Bolwell-developed composite
technology has helped keep the new Nagari down to
sensationally light 980kg.
transpire. No sales.
Yep, at this point Campbell simply does not
know if any production examples will be built.
Nor, as an obvious adjunct, does he know
what they will cost. He puts the pricing range
anywhere from $300,000 to $700,000.
“I really need a partner with deep pockets,”
he admits. “With the 500 I can go and build
half-a-dozen per year or something like that. I’ve
got all the tooling for it and I can do it with subcontracting
to some of our other companies.
“But then, we’ve had some sniffs from people
in China with contacts in China and Saudi Arabia.
With China, I don’t think it would be too difficult to
get orders for 50 a year for the next two years.
“I can’t build them. I reckon I would need $20
or $30 million to set it up. Even if I got it I wouldn’t
want to spend it on it because that’s very risky.
But there are people out there for whom $20-30
million is not a lot of money.”
Campbell will be 80 in 2022, so even he
accepts the challenge of getting the new Nagari
into production is not something he wants to
attempt alone.
“This is the ultimate Nagari,” he says. The
implication is, it’s also his last.
So how sweet would it be to have 500s being
built by the time this unique Aussie automotive
figure does reach 80 and his business 60?
So calling for someone with deep pockets and
a deep love of sportscars. There’s an investment
with your name on it at Bolwell.
Hopping the fence
You could argue Ross McConnell’s
path in life was defi ned when as a
10-year old he moved in next door to the
Bolwells in Frankston.
He was forever hopping the fence to ogle
the sportscars in various stages of undress.
Soon, he was sweeping the floors and when
he left school at 16 he became an employee
of Bolwell Cars at its first ‘tin shed’ factory.
Ross was intrinsic to the development
of the first Nagari along with Campbell’s
brother Graeme, and the two men also
worked on the 300 and then the most
recent 500.
“I really enjoy working with Graeme,”
Ross told AMC. “He’s a very talented man.
“After 50 years here we are doing the next
Nagari. It’s been very enjoyable.”
Ross says there are two reasons why the
Nagari stands out so much in the Australian
automotive psyche.
“One is its styling and the other is it’s a
V8. It’s the Australia Corvette.”
Ross is not only a Nagari fan, he’s an
owner of two now and has owned a couple
more over the years.
He actually built his first Nagari when
he was employed by Bolwell. Coded B8-24
(Bolwell Mark 8 number 24), it was painted
in a silver-grey metallic and was used as a
display and promotional vehicle. In 1996 he
bought the Cleveland 351-engined B8-95,
but didn’t hang on to it for that long.
Then came B8-92, which was a low
mileage well-maintained example of the
breed. That’s the car featured in Graeme
Neander’s shots for this feature.
Then Ross tracked down the original
prototype, B8-1, which had been off the
road for 30 years. He’s still restoring it.
“I want it to be when I finish it exactly like
the day it was released to the public,” Ross
says. “I know exactly how it should be!
“My ideal with number one would be for
it to be in Campbell’s collection at the car
company.”
Ross’ most recent Bolwell acquisition
has been a Mk 4A, the slinky open-top
two-seater that was the first model sold by
Bolwell Cars.
“It’s come to me at the perfect time
because it’s beautifully done mechanically
and the body is new. I just have to finish
the body and make a perspex screen and
it’s ready.
“I’ll put it on club reg and do some track
work with it. It’s a great little car.”
Bruce Newton