We often see so much written about workshops on the other sides of the world in glamorous locations, whether they belong to huge corporations who have been around since the boom of the modifying era, or be they simply a backstreet unit that belongs to a cult icon who has become famed for their past and current creations. For this post though, I’m going to look closer to home and talk about Huxley Motorsport, based in the world-renowned British city of…Worcester.
In terms of size, Huxley Motorsport is still very much a one man band, with Marc Huxley at the helm. Having built a series of weird and wonderful drift cars over the past few years (including an SR20 powered KE70 Corolla, a BMW V8 powered Volvo 240 and his current SR20 powered RA28 Celica), Huxley has become infamous for tackling jobs head on that many fabricators won’t go near, while bringing his instantly recognisable style and touch to some of the most interesting British builds of recent years.
Parked up outside, I couldn’t help but take a look at Shane Lynch’s Rolls Royce Silver Shadow drift car, which was brought to Hux to have a set of bolt-on arches designed and fitted. See what I mean about a job that many people wouldn’t go near?
Peeping through the workshop doors, I could see that he was part way through fabricating and installing a roll cage into the new Driftworks S15 build. Time was of the essence as the car needed to be ready for this weekend’s round of the BDC at Lydden Hill; needless to say the cage was finished in just over two days, complete with NASCAR-style door bars that allow the upper halves of the factory door cards to remain in tact.
Leaving him to it, I wandered around to see what I could find. It’s only natural that, when someone spends as much time within a confined space as Hux spends within his workshop, the surrounding area will quickly start to resemble that person’s personality, with each discarded tool or part having a story to tell.
One thing that many come to Huxley Motorsport for is wheel repairs, whether they have bent an outer lip or removed entire chunks from the rim. I could only assume that this 18″ WORK VS-XX was in for some repair work.
On the other hand, this SSR Mesh is one of the many wheels that can be found on the back of the aforementioned RA28 Celica, wrapped in super sticky Avon rubber.
With drifting playing such a huge part in Hux’s business, it was only natural for there to be a tyre machine tucked away in the corner. One look at the debris on it suggests just how much action this thing sees.
Lining the walls are memories from past and present drift events. Whether they be battered and bruised body panels from the Celica…
…or press releases from previous sponsorship agreements, it was cool to take a look at these items that clearly meant something to Marc, no matter how big or small.
Thanks to his current sponsorship deal with Avon, there was no shortage of track-ready 15″ rubber, ready to be fitted to the rear of the Celica. Currently sitting second in the BDC Championship, Hux has opened a lot of eyes this year as to what can be achieved with a completely one-off car that’s running wheels and tyres much smaller and narrower than the majority of the competition.
That championship position didn’t come without some hard-fought battles though, which is why you will find a replacement WORK Wheels outer lip ready and waiting for the next time Hux sticks his leading wheel a little too close to an opponent’s car.
Sitting dormant in the corner of the workshop, the Celica has been lying under wraps ready for an appearance at this weekend’s BDC round. With a potential championship title at stake should luck be on his side, there is no way that the little RA28 is going to be treated to a gentle weekend.
Sitting atop the Toyota’s protective cover was this set of 326Power Wheel Nuts and Spike End Caps that I had just supplied Hux with. These were to be fitted to the aforementioned Rolls Royce belonging to Shane Lynch, bringing an additional touch of Japanese style to a very British car.
A tool for every occasion: I have no doubt at all that everything you can see atop this Snap-On toolbox gets used almost every day.
Leaving him to work long into the night, it was great to experience the humble workshop where so many iconic builds have been realised.
Sure, there are plenty of workshops and garages out there with bigger budgets, fancier tools and more staff but, when you leave your car at Huxley Motorsport, you know that every little job you want doing has been attended to by only one pair of skilled hands. So long as he’s got his workshop, his tools and his Gatecrasher Anthems to keep him motivated…
…you can bet that there will be plenty more incredible builds to bear the Huxley Motorsport name in the future.