It is with great regret that we must inform Members of the death of Michael Bowler on Saturday 16 August after a long period of illness. Michael was 85 years old and a Full Member of the BRDC.
Michael grew up in a family with a passion for cars. His Father Harry raced a 3-litre Bentley at Brooklands and Donington Park before World War 2 and was an early member of the Vintage Sports-Car Club, becoming a long-serving committee member and president of the club in 1955. Harry Bowler was elected to Full Membership of the BRDC in 1935, an achievement which Michael matched when he became a Full Member in 1981. After attending Malvern College, Michael read for a mechanical sciences degree at the University of Cambridge and, on graduating, embarked on a two year apprenticeship with English Electric at Rugby. Before long he gravitated towards journalism and joined The Motor magazine as junior road-tester whilst at the same time sharing his father’s passion for old sports cars, in particular Frazer Nashes, although Michael’s first race, which he won, was in a contemporary Riley OnePointFive. During his time at Cambridge Michael won a half-blue for Rackets and in 1963 was Royal (Real) Tennis Champion.
Once the blanket 70 mph speed limit had been imposed road testing of the faster cars had to be undertaken either on the roads of Continental Europe or at the Motor Industry Research Association (MIRA) facility near Nuneaton which included a high-speed banking. One of Michael’s more unusual feats was to tow a caravan behind a Ford Zodiac around the Monza banking at 70 mph for 24 hours which earned him an entry in the Guinness Book of Records for many years. During his spell as a road tester, Michael developed a series of articles involving track tests of historic cars, the owners of which were happy to entrust their treasures to him as a fast but safe pair of hands.
In 1965 Michael became Assistant to the magazine’s Sports Editor Philip Turner whom Michael succeeded on Philip’s retirement in 1971.During his time as Sports Editor of Motor, Michael came to know well the Formula 1 drivers of the day including in particular Jackie Stewart who would later propose Michael for BRDC Membership.
Motor and Autocar became stablemates under the ownership of IPC, an unforeseen consequence of which was to bring Michael under the same roof as Autocar’s art editor Lionel Burrell who shared Michael’s interest in vintage cars. What Michael would later describe as ‘backstairs plotting’ between him and Lionel led to the birth of Classic Cars magazine in October 1973 catering for readers and advertisers with an interest in cars of the postwar era for whom the only outlet until then had been the idiosyncratic Motor Sport. Despite, after pressure from the Classic Car Club of America, a name change to Thoroughbred & Classic Cars, the new magazine proved to be a great success and it was not long before its sales figures surpassed those of Motor Sport.
The fact that Michael was a racing editor also helped. He had acquired the ex-Gillie Tyrer BMW 328 Mille Miglia over which he saw its restoration to its 1940 specification before coming to an agreement with BMW for the car to be returned to its original manufacturer. The BMW gave way to a rare Frazer Nash Sebring which Michael raced in the 2-litre class of historic sports car events before, in 1978, moving up to John Pearson’s ex-Peter Mould ‘knobbly’ Lister-Jaguar in the Lloyds & Scottish Historic Championship. Finding the power of the Jaguar engine to his taste, Michael acquired a Costin-bodied Lister-Jaguar of his own. Painting the ‘Costin’ Lister Cambridge blue in deference to his alma mater, Michael raced it extensively and successfully over the next few years, winning the FIA Historic Championship in 1979, 1980 and 1981, the Jaguar Driver of the Year Award and the Guild of Motoring Writers Rootes Cup in 1979, the BRDC Nigel Moores Trophy in 1980 and the Lloyds & Scottish championship in 1981.
In 1973 Michael was elected chairman of the RAC MSA’s newly-formed Historic Committee where he gained great respect and played a major role in formulating rules and regulations for the burgeoning but somewhat undisciplined world of historic racing. Historic racing’s shape today owes much to the work put in by Michael and his colleagues in the 1970s. Michael was also the RACMSA’s delegate on the FIA Historic Commission from1974, becoming president from 1988 to 1990 and a member of the MSA Motor Sport Council from 1975 to 1987. From 1998 to 2004 Michael was a director of the Guild of Motoring Writers.
Through his historic racing involvement Michael came to know oil magnate and motor racing enthusiast Victor Gauntlett of Pace Petroleum fame, for whom Michael went to work in 1981, becoming a director of Aston Martin Lagonda and subsequently Zagato to 1993. Michael was joint Managing director of Zagato when plans were laid for a ‘baby’ Aston Martin which never came to fruition through lack of the enormous financial resources required. Michael was involved with AML when the Nimrod Group C project was in full swing. He was also involved with the Yamaha Formula 1 engine project and the OX-pp supercar. Michael’s career came full circle when he became editor of The Automobile magazine from 2003 to 2009. For a couple of years Michael ran the 96 Club. He was also the author of numerous books about cars, some focussed on Aston Martin whilst others were of a more general nature but were informed by his wealth of knowledge about the automobile.
To Jane, Michael’s wife of over 50 years, and to their sons Simon, James and Andrew the BRDC offers its most sincere condolences.
Michael’s funeral will take place on Friday 5 September at 12.15pm at the Hampden Chapel, Chilterns Crematorium, Whielden Lane, Amersham HP7 0ND with a gathering afterwards at Chorleywood Golf Club, Common Lane, Chorleywood WD3 5LN. All BRDC Members are welcome to attend.