Firm will divide and conquer with what remains of its once 240-strong stockpile of ‘new’ Land Rover Defenders
Twisted Automotive went out on quite a limb when it paid £7.5m to secure 240 examples of the Defender’s final production run in 2015. The move made obvious strategic sense given the firm’s business model – but it still necessitated additional funding, and there was no cast-iron guarantee that the model’s implausible popularity would continue in the years following its demise.
Now, of course, with two-thirds of the stockpile already gone, Twisted is sitting pretty. Thanks in part to Land Rover’s own obsessive revisits via its Classic division, it feels like the Defender has barely left – and its fanbase appears no less inclined to fork out six figures for one. Particularly one with delivery miles on the clock and only the Thirsk-based specialist’s name on the V5C. Values are said to be on the rise with every passing day.
And so with 80 cars left and plenty of time to kill until it has a new Defender to play with, Twisted has announced a fresh plan of attack. It will split its efforts into three distinct areas of focus.
.jpg)
Company founder and managing director Charles Fawcett puts it like this: “We really do see our role as defending the Defender; we’ve built this business around the vehicle, so it falls on us to protect and celebrate it. And with our stock in its final run, the time has come to take Twisted to the next level through diversification and broadening our business model.”
One branch of this ‘diversification’ plan is familiar – the ‘Rework’ division, where existing owners can have their cars restored or modified has long been the firm’s bread and butter, and will continue to function as before.
The other two – dubbed ‘Make History’ and ‘Remake History’ – deal specifically with the fate of the shrinking stockpile. For the latter, Twisted has allocated 44 cars which it intends to modify in a way that ‘pays homage to the history of the original Land Rover’. They will include Classic Series II, IIA, III and Stage One V8 models, all built to high specification and doubtless with a price to match. Work is scheduled to begin on January 29th – three years to the day since Land Rover wound up production at Solihull.
That leaves Twisted with its final 36 examples, a batch it says will be sold only to existing clients. As the ‘Make History’ name suggests, the emphasis here will be very much on bespoke creations as the brand looks to reward the customers that have contributed to its success over the years (and, of course, get maximum bang for its final invested buck). Twisted doesn’t expect to start work on these cars till late next year, although given their exclusivity, we’d imagine the bun fighting has already begun in the order books.
Fawcett said: “This will be our third major release of our iconic stock. We’ve been slowly re-engineering and ensuring that the vehicles are the best that they can possibly be and will soon be ready to share them with the world. I know there will be lots of collectors and fans who want a piece of history coupled with our Twisted treatment.
“Twisted going forward is about building on the success of recent years. We’re making a fundamental shift in the market and adopting a new mentality. Everything we do from now on is to keep the spirit of Land Rover’s rich heritage alive.”
Source: Read Full Article