Words: Julian Milnes
Photos: RPM Technik
Spend time with RPM Technik’s directors and you soon realise the three Porsche obsessives represent a triple whammy of experience and specialist savvy. It’s a combination that has created one of the UK’s leading independent names, with its own highly rated CSR range of cars, plus a coveted place in the Porsche Partner Network.
In the beginning there was one. When your first word was ‘car’ and family outings involved sitting in the back of a 924 or 911 mesmerised by dashboard dials and controls in your vision, your future is pretty much mapped out. Ollie Preston began his career as a 16-year-old apprentice at Machtech (now JZM) and had almost a decade of Porsche know-how by the time he started RPM Technik in 2001 as a one-car lock-up operation. His plan was simple: to build customer loyalty via a meticulous approach to servicing.
In 2006, Darren Anderson, a qualified mechanical engineer who had been a customer since 2004, left a career in property, oil and gas consultancy to join the company as commercial director. Recruiting customers as directors turned out to be a winning formula!
In 2008, Greig Daly’s modified 964 C2 led him to the firm and three years later, when RPM Technik was about to move to its current HQ in Long Marston, he brought years of sales experience with BMW, Audi and Porsche on board as its new sales director.
Both Darren and Greig were impressed by Ollie’s vision for the business. Darren explains: “Ollie had a different approach, which was refreshing. It wasn’t just about the short game, earning the money. We have the same ethos – as long as you give the customer the best possible experience and have integrity, you’ll get further up the road.”
Greig agrees: “If a customer comes in with a clean sheet and says, ‘I have this much to spend,’ we don’t have to give them advice with an ulterior motive. We can give them the best advice so they get the right car for them, which might be 12 months down the line.”
A shared collective creativity has enabled RPM Technik to head in new and interesting directions, such as bespoke projects. As the team says, the scale of the project is only limited by your imagination, and that’s something its customers have plenty of.
Take the 964 restomod they created for one client, which has generated thousands
of words in the motoring press. The final product was a full shell-up custom rebuild
with a 395bhp naturally aspirated air-cooled engine, carbon fibre panels, fly by wire throttle and adjustable throttle maps, all wrapped up in a mouth-watering pre-1973 Chartreuse Green package.
The complex project created a stunning car that boosted footfall to the business, but the driving force behind it was a simple one that every Porsche enthusiast understands. “Essentially, it was built with a single-minded ethos to create one man’s perfect 911,” says Darren.
Given the team’s willingness to push back the boundaries, the creation of its CSR range of cars was a logical step. Born out of customer requests for something more cutting-edge – while also scratching the itch of their own engineering curiosity – the results have been universally praised in the motoring press.
The CSR approach is to take base models and elevate them to something new. Since the line began in 2012, 30 CSRs have been created, 13 of which were built in the last 12 months. “Our buyers want to put their own stamp on the cars, anything from colour schemes to interiors” says Darren. “The chance to build something to their spec is what is capturing their attention.
Alongside those custom creations, car sales remains a key area, while servicing is the bedrock, and then there’s engine building. “We’ve always had a really good skill set in this area,” says Ollie. “Our senior technician Dave Lee has been building air-cooled engines for longer than some of our other technicians have been alive! He reverse engineered and rebuilt a Merlin 27-litre V12 from a Hurricane in his spare time – so a flat-six is probably a bit easier in comparison!”
An established parts customer of Porsche in Reading, the tough accreditation process involved a Porsche audit of the business, technical training and some significant financial investment. In return, it gains full factory support, plus access to factory equipment and factory training.
“If there’s a problem, we can send logs of the cars and they can analyse it. Our computers download across to Porsche every night,” says Ollie. “Porsche gets to see what goes on outside in the specialist field and it gives us the ability to maintain the latest cars, which are only going to get more technical.
“We’ve found problems that Porsche haven’t and that’s great for them as they can record it for future reference. It’s a win-win situation.”. A phrase that also neatly describes the trio’s meeting of minds.
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