Prodrive has
announced that they have officially inaugurated their new headquarters in
Banbury, UK. The new facility is spread across 110,000sqft were the company
will start manufacturing its first parts.
The facility
will be home to their Motorsport Business, which runs the Aston Martin Racing
team, MINI and VW Golf rally teams, and it is rumoured that Prodrive might get
on board with Manor Marussia F1 team. The facility will also be home to its
Advanced Technology division for the automotive, aerospace, defence, and marine
sectors. In the new facility, race and rally cars will be built alongside
advanced active aero systems for super cars, centre console modules for luxury
cars and the latest control systems for electric vehicles. The new facility is
Prodrive’s third headquarters having originally been based at Silverstone in
1984, before moving to Banbury in 1986.
David
Richards, Prodrive Chairman said that; “This is the beginning of a new era for
the company. For the first time all our motorsport, advanced technology and
manufacturing operations will be under one roof in a modern purpose-built
facility. This will enable us to operate
far more efficiently and to increase the collaboration and technology transfer
between our businesses.”
Richards
concluded to say that; “Banbury is very much Prodrive’s home. Our former site
became a landmark for motorists travelling between London and Birmingham on the
M40 motorway and I am sure that our new headquarters will continue this
tradition,”
In the last
30 years Prodrive has transformed from a motorsport team running Porsche rally
cars to an international technology business employing more than 500 people
where the majority of the company’s £50 million turnover is generated by
non-motorsport activities.