Meet the team

Nathaniel Seviour

Nathaniel (Nat) has an extensive engineering background as well as a passion for anything powered by internal combustion! After gaining a degree in mechanical engineering, he worked for several years as a Process Improvement Engineer for Timken Bearings, at their Leicestershire based steel rolling mill. Following this he was employed by Metzeler/Schlegel automotive (an automotive sealing systems manufacturer, supplying companies such as Bentley and Toyota) as Engineering Projects Manager. Nat is in charge of the fabrication and engineering side of Retropower, and is more than capable of taking an automotive ‘dream’ and turning it into carefully designed and perfectly executed piece of engineering.

Callum Seviour

Equally fanatical about cars, Callum (Cal) brings the ‘artistic’ element to the table. As well as being an experienced mechanic he has a history in music production and sound engineering, as well as serving many years on the management team at a large hotel & conference centre, something that gives Cal customer service manners not often associated with the automotive trade! Cal has also always been a dedicated petrolhead, owning and restoring dozens of unusual cars over the years, as well as helping Nat with his projects along the way. Cal is in charge of the design, assembly and wiring side of Retropower, and his eye for detail and vision for that ‘perfect’ combination of old and new ensures our vehicles look as good as they go!

Gary Thompson

Gaz joined us at the start of 2011 and has a wealth of bodywork knowledge. He has over 15 years experience in the automotive bodywork trade both as a painter and, prior to starting at Retropower, working for a bodyshop products supplier. This has given Gaz an invaluable, in-depth knowledge of paints and bodyshop products. Gaz is responsible for the bodyshop side of Retropower, ensuring every car leaves us with show-winning paintwork!

Trevor Thomson

This is actually Trevor’s second spell at Retropower, the 6-sugars-in-tea and Bovril aficionado having once again decided that working on modern cars is simply too dull to countenance. Years in the trade mean that there’s not much Trevor can’t turn his hand to, and he’s worked on cars of all kinds, eras and complexities over the course of that time. True fact, Trevor actually came to us as a customer before becoming a member of the team, which tells you all you need to know about Retropower!

Trev’s assortment of retro metal is nothing if not diverse and includes a Mk2 Escort, a K10 Micra that refuses to die no matter the abuse it’s subjected to, and a Merc diesel OM606-powered Volvo 240. Eclectic? You betcha.

Stuart Gunn

Joining us mid 2012, Stu brings a lifetime of panel beating experience to the table. Stu started his career at Research Garage in 1979 as an accident repair panel beater. He subsequently took a position at Custom Chrome exhausts as a fabricator but later returned to Research until we took him on in 2012. 35 years of automotive metalwork experience combined with a passion for modified classics (Stu’s 4×4 V8 powered Midget is well known in MG circles) makes Stu an invaluable member of our superb team.

Dean McConnell

Dean is our upholsterer and designer/illustrator. His background as a shoe designer gives him an exceptional eye for detail and in depth knowledge of textile properties. This combined with his life-long love of anything powered by internal combustion makes him an ideal additional to our team. Dean’s artistic ability means we can present concept drawings to our customers on a level you’d expect of a mainstream car manufacturer.

Adam Manns

Also a qualified engineer, Adam is a total Ford nut and owns a pair of MK2 Escorts and a beautifully restored Sapphire Cosworth which is testament to his extreme attention to detail, something which makes him ideally placed to front the engineering wing of Retropower.

James Manns

Scott Aitken

Our junior panelbeater joined us in 2017 and despite having a hard act to follow is doing an outstanding job. Scott’s attention to detail and determination are second-to-none making him the perfect addition to the team!

Rich Irving

It’s probably easier to list the jobs Rich hasn’t done than to compile those he has, though a condensed version must include a spell building boats in the Caribbean and Turkey, a crossing of the Pacific, and perhaps most bizarrely of all, time spent sheep farming on the Falkland Islands. All that experience working with marine composites (including pre-impregnated carbon fibre), not forgetting the general day-to-day engineering that’s part and parcel of any ocean faring voyage, means that Rich is both talented and versatile, more than capable of solving automotive problems as and when they arise.

Jamie Arkle

Jamie cut his teeth working on the editorial staff of Classic Ford and Performance Vauxhall magazines, followed by a brief freelance career writing for the likes of Motor Sport, Fast Ford, Retro Cars and Pacenotes. A spell at an automotive PR firm followed, before Jamie was finally able to join the Retropower team in June of 2018. His tasks consist of social media, website upkeep, PR and various written tasks, meaning he’ll almost certainly wax lyrical about your own particular project should you opt to entrust it to Retropower – just don’t let him near it with a spanner.