At one point in the past two decades, visiting a showroom and purchasing a new car straight from the factory floor wasn’t enough. For the most discerning clientele with an appetite for creativity and the deepest pockets, going for something personalised and unique became the only choice. Who, after all, wants something that everyone else can buy? This idea of exclusivity is nothing new. For well over a century, having a bespoke suit was the height of luxury clothing. Esteemed houses on Savile Row have long dressed heads of state, politicians and Hollywood stars, cutting unique patterns and adding details specifically at the client’s request.
Customisation isn’t new to the car world either. Since four wheels took over from horses as the primary form of transport, drivers have been modifying, tweaking and personalising the look and performance of their cars. In the United States in the 1930s, moonshiners would tune their daily drivers to outrun the police during prohibition, turning their humble V8s into borderline race cars to transport whiskey from rural areas into cities as quickly and efficiently as possible. On their days off they’d race their ‘stock’ cars at local tracks, eventually forming what we know of today as NASCAR.
The following decade saw the rise of lowriding, a subculture that placed importance on looks rather than speed. Mexican American communities on the US’s west coast began to chop up, lower and hand-paint their rides in displays of ultimate creativity. When hip-hop came around in the late-20th century, lowriders and customised cars would form an integral part of the image of many of its biggest stars. Wheels got bigger, interiors more lavish and engines more powerful, all in the name of self-expression. Until recently though, those looking to put their own spin on their car would, more often than not, have to seek out a third party customiser to make the changes. But now, many of the world’s manufacturers are offering in-house bespoke services. And it’s Britain, not the US, that’s leading the charge.
