Long time followers of Retropower might recall that, almost a decade ago now, we were commissioned to build a one-off Jaguar XJC restomod, a car we subsequently called ‘Project XJC430.’ The build in question served to both inspire the imaginations and tax the collective abilities of everyone at the company...
Jay Leno once famously described the Jensen Interceptor as being “like a Dodge Coronet that went to college at Oxford,” and, frankly, we can’t think of a better description of Jensen’s most beloved creation. Of course, it’s not hard to see where Leno was coming from, what with the Interceptor’s...
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...
This is Project One, a restomod creation based upon everyone’s favourite blue oval saloon, the first-generation Ford Escort. It’s a car we a Retropower have a long and storied association with, and one we suspect most of those reading this (at least those of a certain vintage) will also have...
For anyone with passion for Jaguar, motorsport or the golden years of the British motor industry, the fifties to the late-sixties, the name Norman Dewis is bound to raise a wry smile and a nod of recognition. As it should, as Dewis, an RAF veteran of the Second World War, became...
There aren’t a great many Jaguars with a greater standing in the classic car world than the Mk2, perhaps the archetypal sixties saloon car and one that, if you’re of a certain vintage, will doubtless bring back sepia telly memories of The Sweeney’s John Thaw smashing through cardboard boxes, probably...
Project St Joan – Toyota Land Cruiser Restomod Project St Joan is our take on the Toyota Land Cruiser, specifically the original FJ-shape that did so much to dethrone the Land Rover Defender as the de facto means of getting to far flung corners of the world in the middle of the...
The latest Retropower restomod undertaking sees our collective skills brought to bear against the Morris Minor, perhaps the archetypal British classic and car we’ve long longed yearned to put our own unique spin on. The opportunity to do just that arose just last year, when the Minor’s owner, a long time...
Precious few automotive brands have enjoyed as much success as that of Top Gear, and as such we didn’t need to be asked twice when the team at Top Gear Magazine made contact to ask if they could feature Retropower within the ‘Retro’ section of their esteemed publication. Wind forward a...
If the proof of the pudding is in the eating, then the proof of the restomod project car is in the driving, which is how we’ve found ourselves in the enviable position of once again being asked to commence work on a custom Vauxhall Chevette, one with liberal dashings of...
Just some positive feedback from the great man on his newly completed, recently returned, internet-famous Mk1 Escort. Nuff said. “A masterpiece of functionality and classic understatement… The car is more than I’d ever hoped for” Gordon Murray, Jan 2020 ...
Just some positive feedback from the great man on his newly completed, recently returned, internet-famous Mk1 Escort. Nuff said. "A masterpiece of functionality and classic understatement...
What attracted me to Retropower in the first place was the quality of their work, evidenced through lots of social media coverage that gave me comfort there was nothing to hide. The quality of the work became clear from an early stage and remained consistent throughout, no matter whether the...
The RS is part of our family. Being born 9 months after the RS was delivered new to my father, I have never known life without this car in it. After a brief, but hard, rallying career which ended in the mid-80’s after 15,000 miles, the car was stored for...
The first instalment of a new series following Alasdair Stables and his Retropower built Chevette HSR as they compete in the Motorsport News Circuit Championship. First up, an eventful visit to Cadwell Park Motorsport, as the old adage goes, is a risky business, and while the threat to life and limb...
This car was imported from its native United States by its current owner, our client, though the deal was done on the understanding that the car had recently been treated to a complete, ground-up restoration, a claim supported by the images sent over at the time. Fast forward some months...
There aren't as many performance motoring publications as well read and well respected as Evo, a magazine that's been nothing short of a sales sensation since its launch 21 years ago. You can probably imagine the sense of anticipation coursing through Retropower when Evo announced its intention to pay us...
The Millington Diamond serves as a litmus test for the British and Irish club motorsport scene. To put it bluntly, if you’ve never spent a wet Sunday stood in a Welsh forest or windswept airfield circuit denoted by an increasingly ragged assortment of cones, there’s every chance that the name...
What's cooler than a Mk1 Cortina from the year England won the World Cup? An incredibly low, 'South London look' Mk1 Cortina from the year England won the World Cup, that's what. If this sounds like your cup of tea, then read on. The genesis of this build can actually be...
It’s hard to believe that it’s already been a full 4 months since we began work on Project Utah, our plan to turn the already lovely Mk2 Jaguar into something altogether sleeker, slipperier and unique. You can read more about the aero-focussed concept underpinning Project Utah here and here, but...