Inside former Yorkshire cinema which has become showroom for exclusive Defender car range

Twisted Automotive has unveiled a new 8,500sq ft showroom in a converted cinema, five years after Jaguar Land Rover ceased production of the Defender.

Founder Charles Fawcett bought the historic Gaiety Cinema in Long Street, Thirsk, last year and has spent the past seven months converting it into a modern showroom with a coffee bar and events space.

A spokesman said "The original cinema screen has been replicated, with the aim of hosting exclusive, motoring themed functions when Covid restrictions allow.

"Twisted’s existing HQ at Sussex Court on the outskirts of the town will be retained as a workshop facility, with sales, marketing and reception staff transferring to the new showroom."

The spokesman added: "The move marks a subtle change in direction for Twisted in its 21st anniversary year. Towards the end of 2020, the brand licences for Twisted US, Middle East and EV were sold to a consortium of investors while a boutique showroom was opened close to the home of British motor racing, Silverstone.

The intention for 2021, said Mr Fawcett, was to concentrate on re-engineering fewer vehicles, with an emphasis on creating only the very highest-specification cars.

The new showroom has been launched in tandem with significant investment in the Thirsk factory, adding more ramps and growing Twisted’s team of technicians.

The showroom will be home to around 25 vehicles, including a number of the 61 remaining from the batch of 240 last of the line Defender that Twisted bought back in January 2016.

The spokesman said: "Unable to host a launch event due to coronavirus restrictions, Twisted has instead commissioned a series of films detailing the brand’s journey. The first is released today, to coincide with the showroom’s official launch and the fifth anniversary of the end of Defender production."

The building dates from July 1914, when it opened as the Gaiety Cinema on Long Street. It was badly damaged by fire in 1930 and was later acquired by a tyre fitting company.

When Mr Fawcett began exploring the building, he found some unusual wall decorations in the old office area.

“It’s a really impressive building that’s alive with history,” he said. “Upstairs in the office, up in the rafters, you could even see the old cinema screen right at the back of the main space. But that’s not all – in a little room, accessed through a tiny door, there are ideas for adverts that the owner scribbled all over the wall in 1925. It’s obviously where his desk used to be. There were certainly some interesting events held there over the years."

Mr Fawcett said the showroom would enable the business to take a slightly different direction.

He added: “In the spring and summer of 2020, the coronavirus pandemic brought the world to a standstill. We had a rare opportunity to reflect on where we were as a business and where we were heading. It became obvious that we had deviated slightly from our original intention to make the Defender the very best it can be."

“We had grown so much over the past 18 months or so. However, I realised that bigger is not always better and we needed to go back to our roots and our original philosophy, building fewer vehicles so that the customer journey can be given the same attention as the vehicles themselves.

“Central to this will be our new showroom, which we hope will be somewhere where people can call in, grab a coffee, share stories and see our vehicles up close – as well as maybe a boat or even a rally car."

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