Bolwell Mk IX Ikara History
Catalog record
This is a brief catalog introduction with limited source documentation. A licensed, identity-checked lead photograph has not yet been added for this page. Detailed year, configuration and ownership coverage must be identified separately; this page is not a complete vehicle catalog.
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After the Nagari's 1974 shutdown Bolwell Corporation shifted focus to composite manufacturing — boat hulls, vehicle components, and eventually wind-turbine blades. The Mk IX Ikara, launched in 1979, was a deliberate return to the kit-car format: by selling the car in component form, Bolwell could legally bypass the full Australian Design Rules compliance required of turnkey vehicles.
The Ikara used a spaceframe chassis, a mid-mounted 1.6-litre Volkswagen Golf four-cylinder engine driving through the Golf's transaxle, and a new fibreglass body. Only 12 examples were completed, with 11 reported as surviving. It attracted some corporate interest in Bolwell's composite expertise but did not achieve a commercial scale.
The Ikara closed out Bolwell's original production era. The company would not return to car-making until the Nagari 300 concept appeared at the 2008 Melbourne Motor Show, beginning a modern chapter in carbon-fibre and Kevlar construction.
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