Twisted is putting the class in classic as it looks to expand in the US

“WE don’t shout about what we do.” said Charles Fawcett of Twisted Automotive. “It’s , a Yorkshire thing, to keep quiet and under the radar.”

But Twisted, a Land Rover Defender modifying company, is a North Yorkshire gem that deserves to be shouted about.

Based in Thirsk, the firm started in 2001 as a mail order business supplying Land Rover parts. Mr Fawcett said: “We didn’t have a brass washer between us then,” but it wasn’t long before the attention to detail at Twisted gained recognition in the UK and abroad.

Mr Fawcett has had a lifelong love of the vehicles, which has spurred the company on. He said: “You can turn up in any Defender and it’s not ostentatious. It’s a rough tough vehicle, if you try and bling it up too much, you ruin it. It’s no longer iconic; it’s trying to be something it’s not.

“The changes we make to them are subtle, they’re not usually on the outside, like window tints and branding, but they create a different space inside.

“With a normal Land Rover, part of the ownership of it is that you have to accept that things rattle and leak, they’re quirky.

“Ours are handbuilt in the Yorkshire. We get rid of annoyances and give them more power, better brakes, soundproofing, insulation.” Mr Fawcett said.Old Land Rover Defender

Twisted are big exporters, and not many of their Land Rovers are sold locally. The company estimates that 8-10% sold in a 50 mile radius of their Thirsk site.

They export 25% of the 60 new build Land Rovers they modify a year abroad, to countries including Indonesia, Malaysia, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, Canada and New Zealand.

“The rest of the world loves anything English. And the Land Rover Defender is very English. In a Ferrari you’d probably be getting dirty looks but in a Land Rover, you’ll get flashed out of a junction – the Queen drives one!” Mr Fawcett said.

Initially started as a hobby, Mr Fawcett and his team, including operations director Alex Duckett, expanded Twisted to actually building vehicles in 2008, and in 2009 they decided to exclusively modify Defenders.

Now the firm employs 22 people, and is looking to take 5 more on in the next few months. They have just received their biggest ever order for a Defender, with a price tag of £200,000.

The firm has found itself a more than comfortable luxury niche, making between 50 and 60 Twisted Land Rover Defenders every year.

Mr Fawcett said: “We could do 100 cars or more a year, but not only we’d run out, we’d lose that aspirational feel to a Twisted Land Rover. They’d be everywhere then – we want to keep them special.”

Modified Twisted Land Rover DefenderNow that production on the newest series is coming to an end, they will be in bigger demand than ever until the next version comes out – in four years.

Twisted has stockpiled over 200 Defenders to ensure the continuity of the firm for the next few years – but Mr Fawcett and his team have even bigger dreams for the firm and keeping it compact at the same time, in true Twisted fashion.

The company is now looking to open production facilities in the US and China, launching a business in the US focusing on restoration.

The Twisted team has predicted that restoration will become an increasing source of revenue as the source of new cars dry up, and, according to the firm, 76% of the Land Rover Defender’s built since the first once was produced in 1948 are still in circulation.

Mr Fawcett said: “We don’t have competitors in the traditional sense. We are up against any product that makes people feel good, a Ferrari, a watch, a holiday, that extension on the house, that swimming pool they wanted.

“Twisted is unique. A lot of companies have jumped on the bandwagon, trying to do everything but they don’t execute it well. Twisted have gone through every detail of a Land Rover.”

Though it was a big move, from a comfortable family business to providing a luxury item in the middle of the recession, Mr Fawcett said: “If you go wrong alone then it’s your own failure, or your own success. Some weeks I thought I was better off getting a job so at least I know I’d have a salary, but the mental reward with this job is too great to give up.”

Recruitment, as always, is an issue. Mr Fawcett said: “It’s not about experience. It’s about mentality. You have to be a perfectionist to work at Twisted, and have attention to detail like you wouldn’t believe.

“Thirsk is the wrong place to employ for such a skill set, in Birmingham and Leicester they have much more experience as car manufacturers, but we love Yorkshire, and Yorkshire has a trusted brand of its own.”

Twisted team

With a new management team put in place over the past year, including operations director Alex Duckett. Formerly of Knight Frank, Mr Duckett decided he wanted a change from the Leeds property market, and moved to work in rural North Yorkshire instead.

Mr Duckett said: “We’ve invested a lot on the brand, and it’s become just as big, if not bigger than the business itself.

“We’ve got a truly special product, and we’ve grown into the market leader at what we do. This also brings pressures. We’re always going to be the victims of imitation, but people don’t have the experience to achieve the same standard that Twisted reaches. We continue to strive to be the best you can get.”

 

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