11:15 am, October 12, 2023
Yorkshire-based 4×4 re-engineering firm Twisted has announced a new deal that will see the creation of a Japan-based arm of the company.
Twisted – which re-engineers the original Land Rover Defender and Suzuki’s Jimny – has entered into a partnership with Japan’s Yone Motors to secure an exclusive supply of imported classic Defenders over three years.
Yone Motors – which is owned by Valuence Holdings – will create a new brand called Twisted Japan.
Charles Fawcett, founder of Twisted, said: ‘To take the British icon that is classic Defender, re-engineer and upgrade it in Yorkshire, then send it to Japan is monumental for the Twisted team.
‘The vehicles leaving the workshop have had over 1,200 hours each spent on them by the finest British technicians.
‘There is a significant volume of standard Defender in the Japanese market and longer term these will be used as base models and assembled under licence in Japan by Twisted-trained technicians.
‘This is the beginning of an exciting journey for Twisted on the other side of the world.’
Yone Motors currently buys and sells new and used vehicles in Japan and abroad while also providing servicing facilities.
Twisted says the first re-engineered vehicle will be shipped from Thirsk to Tokyo’s Yokohama port shortly, with the initial run being petrol-powered TVS and TV8 models.
The team at Twisted
Kazuya Tanai of Valuence, who is heading up the project of Twisted Japan, added: ‘There’s a growing demand in Japan to buy and repurpose classic, quality products.
‘It’s this circular economy ethos that’s at the core of what we do, so the partnership with Twisted makes sense.
‘The Yone Motors network has contributed to the goal of a circular economy where customers can continue driving their existing cars through expert maintenance instead of buying new.
‘We have intentions for Twisted technicians to train the team in Japan, so the expertise is something we can offer to domestic Land Rover Defender owners, too.’
Twisted famously ordered 200 Land Rover Defenders in 2016 before the iconic off-roader was cut from production and offered up a final run of 16 vehicles – each one tweaked and tuned – in September 2022.
