Yorkshire Land Rover joins the supercars in Gumball Rally

A company from Thirsk, which specialises in adapting Land Rovers, is planning to join some of the world’s wealthiest and most fanatical supercar owners on the 3,000-mile road trip of a lifetime taking in the sights and sounds of 13 countries.

Those taking part in what is billed as the world’s biggest “rock ‘n’ roll rally” are expected to spend more than 10 hours a day behind the wheel on a journey that will kick off on May 18 in Copenhagen and take them through cities including Stockholm, Helsinki, St Petersburg, Warsaw and Vienna before arriving in Monaco.

Twisted, a Land Rover Defender transformation specialist, is sending four vehicles after being approached by the organisers of Gumball 3000 for its 15th anniversary event.

Over the years the rally, which costs an eye-watering £30,000 to enter, has mostly featured powerful sports cars and a cohort of enthusiastic celebrity drivers, but there are also more character entries such as camper vans and police cars.

Charles Fawcett, 35, managing director of Twisted, who will be driving one of the Land Rovers said: “This year, the route is around 3,000 miles from Copenhagen to Monaco, with the venue for the finishing line and end-of-rally party being the Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix.

“We’ve got a great responsibility, because not only will our team be travelling in our own £100,000-plus Twisted Land Rovers, but we will also be providing some Press and back-up cars for the event.

“The event is pure hedonism for car nuts – and while many are extremely wealthy, quite a few are pretty ordinary people with extraordinary cars on the road trip of a lifetime. But to be invited to run our cars alongside some of the world’s best is quite an honour, and an indication of the esteem in which our cars are held.

“It’s not a race – it’s simply a trip from A-to-B allowing owners to stretch the legs of their cars, and have a great time doing it.

“Its 3,000 miles over seven days, 13 countries and there’s an exciting mix of 120 very, very special cars and 120 serious petrol heads.”

The theme of this year’s event is the Gumball Army, and many of the cars taking part will be in variations of a camouflage colour scheme.

The Twisted Land Rover Defenders have taken three months each to build and Mr Fawcett said he hoped the rally would show that Defenders “can be more than just a workhorse”.

“I have not taken part in the rally before but it’s something that I have dreamed of taking part in,” he added.

“We will be watched by somewhere over one million people watching the rally in different countries.

“The event is seven days but we are driving for six days. We will cover 3,000 miles in six days so there’s going to be 10 to 16 hours a day of driving.

“It’s something that we have always wanted to do. Gumball is just one of those events that’s on your to-do list.”

Twisted specialises in rebuilding and modifying Land Rovers to customer’s specifications, and its Gumball fleet will be able to give many of the other cars a run for their money in the adaptation stakes.

The vehicle line up for 2013 will, however, include multi-million dollar Bugatti Veyrons, McLarens, Ferraris, Rolls Royces, Bentleys, Aston Martins, Jaguars and Porsches as well as Lamborghinis, with the marque this year celebrating 50 years.

Twisted has a long pedigree working with Land Rovers, once the firm favourite iof farmers. The firm was originally a tuning specialist but the business evolved and now produces transformed vehicles with enhancements and modifications. Each customer’s Twisted Defender is unique, and how they are specified is down to that customer.

Vehicles go through several stages of transformation. First the company tries to gauge what the customer’s requirements are and comes to an understanding of the customer; next it considers the driving feel of the vehicle – suspension and wheels; then comes power, comfort and then style.

Mr Fawcett said he began adding performance modifications to Land Rover Defenders for off-road competitions many years ago and began sourcing, designing and manufacturing parts to boost the vehicle’s power and driveability.

“Twisted Land Rovers are completely re-built, including specially developed engines, drivetrains and suspension – as well as sound-deadened and hugely luxurious interiors costing tens of thousands of pounds using the same materials more often found in the best cars money can buy,” he added.