If you’re a petrol head and rally cars turn your head, then Prodrive might be your ideal day out. Now for many we often see Formular one in the new as the be all and end all to racing but there’s a whole lot more and Prodrive is the best in the business. For a small tour fee – that goes to charity - you can visit their headquarters and marvel in their magnificence. Was that too much?

Firstly who are Prodrive and why are they so special?

Well, Prodrive has worked with many car companies including Porsche, MG, BMW and MINI. And currently build the cars for Aston Martin. They had been completed in many races with a range of manufacturers in a range of races but it’s one special race and driver that really put Prodrive on the map. Two words... Subaru & McRaeEver wondered why Subaru's iconic blue and yellow theme is so popular? Well, it’s all down to this moment.

The most legendary moment in British rally history

Let me set the scene for you. It's 1995. Car manufacturers like Lancia and Ford are huge and running rallies in their Lancia Delta’s and Ford Escort RS Cosworth (I miss you), and Subaru is a small company from Japan and not the big brand name we see today. This iconic race is one of the reasons they earnt such fame and have gone on to produce some might corner taking machines to this day. And Prodrive has become a major name in the racing industry.

The most captivating race of British racing

McRae and teammate Science were fighting to earn the lead in the 1995 RAC Rally. McRae was eager to win the title after missing out on previous races and frankly, McRae was not being a team player, the bosses needed both teammates to finish and Colin had set his eye on the prize regardless.

It wasn’t until day 8 of the rally when things really kicked off. During one stage Colin was 28 seconds faster than anyone else putting fear into the other teams. During the next stage chaos erupted, Colin suffered not one but two problems firstly a puncture and secondly his front suspension, the team rushed chaotically to quickly fixed the problems and get him back on the road.

The only way to win now was to go at it with all they had. From the Grisedale stage to the end of the next day, they were flat out to gain any second they could, out of all the drivers and cars in the race, Colin was the fastest in 8 of the nine stages only just taking the lead by 17 seconds.

He was willing to risk it all to win the rally. The final day of the race arrives, with seven stages to go before someone is crowned the winner and Colin starts the day by playing pool in the local pub – as you do - while the car is being serviced ready for the race and goes on to be the first over the finish line and win the title of Britain’s first World Rally champion.

What’s this got to do with Prodrive?

Former World Rally Championship-winning co-driver, David Richards founded Prodrive in 1984 it is now the world-leading motorsport business and has spent decades helping manufacturers to win races.

Prodrive competes in races all over the world and to this day they have been in over 1200 events ending up on the podium in over a third of the events – a pretty impressive record me thinks! It's not just rallying there into either they compete in circuit races too – to put it in simple terms, going round and round on tarmacked tracks than through forest tracks.

By 2001, they were re-engineering the Ferrari 550 Maranello into a GT car and winning the GT class at Le Mans in 2003. By 2007 they had teamed with Aston Martin and maintained a longstanding partnership with them to this day. This is a snippet of what they have achieved and no doubt they can put do it more justice than I ever could, you can see many of their trophies and awards during a tour.

Well, the display is ever-changing, the vintage cars such as the very cars Colin McRae drove in his races can be seen, touched and even sit in or pose for photos! Cue photo…These vintage cars chance due to attending events, shows and cars moving around the country but they never leave a stand empty so there is always something amazing to see.

Whilst you are there don’t be afraid to ask the questions you really want to know, talk to the technicians and take photos in the cars on display this isn’t like being behind the glass and reading the notice boards kind of tour.

Prodrive build the original Aston Martins that you buy from the dealer, Prodrive designed them, builds them and you can be right alongside the technicians who are hand-assembling the cars and complex engines and powertrains, you can even touch them - the cars I mean!

These workshops are immaculate and well organised, they are so well run that they can even track back who worked on each vehicle.

What’s to see?

Well, the display is ever-changing, the vintage cars such as the very cars Colin McRae drove in his races can be seen, touched and even sit in or pose for photos! Cue photo…These vintage cars chance due to attending events, shows and cars moving around the country but they never leave a stand empty so there is always something amazing to see.

Whilst you are there don’t be afraid to ask the questions you really want to know, talk to the technicians and take photos in the cars on display this isn’t like being behind the glass and reading the notice boards kind of tour.

Prodrive build the original Aston Martins that you buy from the dealer, Prodrive designed them, builds them and you can be right alongside the technicians who are hand-assembling the cars and complex engines and powertrains, you can even touch them - the cars I mean! These workshops are immaculate and well organised, they are so well run that they can even track back who worked on each vehicle.

What’s else have they mastered?

Now I don’t want to spoil too much for you like that kind of ruins the point of the tour. Prodrive is a really well company investing in many different areas aside from racing, from developing electric vehicles, finding new answers to recycling challenges, working on equipment for the forces to making ventilators for the COVID-19 pandemic. If you have some serious cash to spare you can ask them to mod your car or even restore it to its former glory.

Many rally cars have been sold to the public over the years, if you’re thinking of buying an authentic rally car, before you part with the thousands get it authenticated by Prodrive.

How Do We Book?

Back at the start of 2020, Prodrive didn’t have tours advertised, I emailed them to ask if they would consider giving us a tour. Thankfully Prodrive gladly arranged a tour of their Bambury headquarters for us and we attended back in February. If you want to book a tour you can do so here for only £30 per person which sounds very reasonable for a tour lasting for around 90 minutes, if you’re lucky enough to get a one to one session as we did. They use this money to fund student visits and donate profits to charity.

Tours of the Prodrive headquarters are typically held on Tuesdays and Thursdays whilst the factory is in full swing – you can really see what a typical day is like. Oh, and the main entrance is towards the back of the building, there is parking all around so you should manage to find a sneaky space somewhere.

I think it really worth the small fee they charge to see what they have on offer and after all, it’s for charity right?. Find tour details here.

Lastly don’t forget to take a photo and tag yourself while you’re there!

What Is Prodrive? And Why Is It Worth A Visit?