The art of noise

Owning a modern classic doesn't mean you can't benefit from the latest exhuast technology, as John Barker explains

THINK OF MAKING EXHAUST SYSTEMS T and you probably imagine basic metalworking with the sound of hammering and the crackle of welding. Yet while there's still a place and a need for skilled metalworkers and artisan welders, today the requirement for modern technology to be used in the design, development and manufacture of an exhaust system is greater than ever. For specialist Milltek Sport it's meant the need to invest £2.5million to deliver significant changes to its business (this was during Covid, incidentally), ones that have improved quality, shortened production times and significantly reduced material waste.

During the lockdown period Milltek also spotted an opportunity to capitalise on its investment. The first was an uptick in sales of systems for current cars, which it put down to the interruption in the supply of new cars. "When people realised they couldn't get new cars, they decided to maintain or tune what they'd got, make it better, says Milltek's Phil Woodward. The second trend was for 'classic' systems, says MD Steve Pound. A lot of people who had cars hidden away now had lots of time on their hands and that really reinvigorated that market. In the first year of Covid, sales of systems for the VW Corrado VR6 and G60 were more than the previous four years put together.'