PMM travels to Bridport to discover more about why a famous face is hoping to put his remapping business into overdrive.
At a time where the relaunched version of a popular TV show is receiving a lukewarm reaction from the critics, there is one brand bearing the ‘Top Gear’ name that is generating nothing but positive reviews.
With no association at all to the BBC’s Sunday night offering, Top Gear Tuning is a specialist automotive remapping company, set up to supply a network of ‘dealers’ with the equipment, software and products to deliver quality remaps to car owners.
Top Gear (Bridport), based in Dorset, is best known for the supply of exhausts and tyres to the performance market, where it has earned a strong reputation and customer base. Six years ago, Owner Steve Kilcoyne recognised that remapping had a strong synergy with the core products that his
business offered and, after striking a deal with respected Italian remapping equipment supplier, Alientech, Top Gear Tuning was added to the company’s stable of products and services.
“With its own staff, processes and infrastructure in place, Top Gear Tuning was now in a position to put its foot to the throttle in terms of product output and support for its dealers.”
Although the integration of remapping services into the Top Gear (Bridport) family was seamless and well received by the company’s customer base, Steve still felt that the Top Gear Tuning brand could do with a bit of star-power behind it.
He was soon meeting with Perry McCarthy, the East London-born racing driver, author and TV star, who enjoyed a successful racing career in Formula Ford, Formula 3, F3000 and American IMSA Racing, before graduating to Formula 1. Despite boasting a stellar CV of achievements from his days behind the
wheel, Perry is probably best known….. well……for not being known. As The ‘Original’ Stig on BBC’s Top Gear, Perry entertained and teased audiences, desperate to find out who lurked underneath the famous
black helmet. Although other feet have stepped into The Stig’s shoes in recent times, only one person can lay claim to being the first to have done so.
With Perry’s previous association to the Top Gear brand, and the common interests that he and Steve shared upon meeting, it seemed that the stars had aligned. “Steve is always looking for ways to expand the business and he felt that the name of the company may have a logical attachment for me to come on board in a promotional or endorsement role,” says Perry.
“I then looked into the company and we had a chat about it all and I found that, as a car enthusiast, performance remapping was something that really interested me. Steve and I hit it off immediately so I offered to play a more active role in the business, if he wanted me to.”
In the early part of last year Perry acquired an equal share (alongside Steve) in Top Gear Tuning, which was separated away from the rest of the Top Gear business to operate as company in its own right. With its own staff, processes and infrastructure in place, Top Gear Tuning was now in a position to put its foot to the throttle in terms of product output and support for its dealers.
He says: “We have some very clever people here, and this is one of the things that attracted me to the business. To be able to support a network of dealers, who expect and deserve a high level of service and support, you need to have a dedicated team in place.
We have that now and we’re constantly looking to add new talent to our teams as our network of customers continues to grow. “Our ultimate aim is to be seen as the authority on remapping and we’re confident we’ll do this as our team grows and our knowledge of the market – from a technical and trends standpoint – matures even further.” As a man who has reached the very top table of his chosen career, Perry knows what it takes to stand out from the rest of the crowd. Combined with Steve’s business
experience, he brings with him the drive and attention to detail that those who reach the big leagues of any sporting profession must have in spades.
“I only spent a small time in F1, but in motor racing you’re always looking to be better and faster and that is the mind-set that I can bring to this team. The motor racing world requires such a dedication to
presentation, so one of the things I immediately wanted to do was tidy up our brand and website to make sure we displayed a professional image to our dealers and their potential customers,” says Perry.
“We now have a great looking site, which we use to educate car owners about the benefits of remapping and what’s involved, as well as pointing potential customers in the direction of their nearest dealer. We’ve also created some excellent marketing materials to further help our dealer network to promote
remapping to their customer base, including banners, brochures and reception material.”
Performance benefits
Although many consumers still require education when it comes to the upsides that remapping can deliver to the performance and economy of their vehicle, what doesn’t take much explaining are the benefits that offering this service can bring to an independent workshop’s bottom line.
Perry says: “If you look at most workshop owners, they’ve had to invest a lot into their company just to allow them to undertake traditional servicing and repair work. The beauty of our remapping offering is that they’re almost adding an extra business, in return for an unbelievably small investment. There is no arduous training and, of course, we can support those that are a little bit more nervous when they first start. 
“It’s such a simple process. Our team of map writers will email the user an improvement map and this is transferred to the vehicle’s ECU via the remapping hardware (which is usually plugged into the vehicle’s
OBD socket). The improvement figures we get on some cars are absolutely ridiculous, and we’ve invested in our own rolling road which allows us to further develop the range and quality of maps we produce.”
With a healthy network of dealers already in place, Top Gear Tuning shows no sign of easing its foot off the gas as it continues to seek out forward-thinking independent workshops who want to put their own
business in pole position.
“We’re happy to talk to any serious workshop professionals about joining our dealer network. As a dealer, they’ll need to make an initial investment in the remapping hardware, and the maps are then purchased on an individual or bulk basis. We’ve seen some dealers who’ve recouped the cost of the
hardware in as little as 5-6 remaps – it’s purely profit after that. As importantly, they’re never alone. Our team is always here to support them,” concludes Perry.
