Ripspeed is a sub brand of Halfords, one of the leading automotive parts retailer in the United Kingdom. It began as an independent retailer in the 1970s, two decades later the business changed hands and was purchased in 1999 by Halfords, and operates as one of the five subsections of a store if it is present.

History

Keith Ripp (1947–2020), the 1981, 82 and 83 hat-trick British Rallycross Champion with Ford Fiesta 1600, started in a small shop in Pinner green before moving to Hertford Road, Enfield Wash specialising in tuning parts and accessories for MinisRipspeed head units any good?? - The Mini Forum
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motorsport Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

and road car tuning and accessories side progressively grew over the years. By the 1990s, Ripspeed's main rivals were Demon Tweeks and Grand Prix Racewear, both owned by racing drivers,

Alan Minshaw Alan Minshaw (born 17 May 1935) is a British former racing driver. In 1983 he won Class C and finished second overall in the British Saloon Car Championship in a Volkswagen Golf GTi. As of 2012, Minshaw owned a varied collection of historic r ...

and

Ray Bellm Raymond Anthony Bellm (born 20 May 1950) is an racing driver from the United Kingdom. Driving career He began his racing career in 1980, running in historic racing series and winning the British Historic 2-litre GT class in 1983 and 1984 dri ...

respectively. In 1996, Ripp sold Ripspeed to Tony Joseph. He then relocated the store from its original premises to a large one on Fore Street, Edmonton, London. with a plan for expansion in other areas. In turn Ripspeed relocated for a second time to an industrial estate in Enfield but this plan came to an abrupt end when the company collapsed due to financial problems after two years of ownership. Ripp with his two sons Adrian and Jason later started up Xtreme Motorsport, based in

Harlow Harlow is a large town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a new town, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire and London, Harlow occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the upp ...

, Essex, which in turn was sold off in 2001. The Ripp brothers later founded R-Tec Auto Design, based in

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

. In early 1999, Halfords took over the brand. One of the biggest changes was discarding the motorsport retail side of its business to concentrate on the lucrative boy racer market. Ripspeed itself has had only a limited number of demonstration cars out and about at shows and events. It started with a 1999 Vauxhall Corsa C SXI, which was followed in 1999 with a Ford Focus Ripspeed's current project is a 1991 Nissan 200SX turbo which is a drift car project and has been seen in action at Santa Pod raceway in 2007. These cars are used extensively for promoting the Ripspeed brand at car shows across the UK and at store openings or promotion weekends. Ripspeed itself did sponsor the Doncaster Performance and Custom Car Show, which begins the UK outdoor car show season. The event was renamed Ripspeed Donny. They have since moved on to sponsor numerous events at Santa Pod raceway which included shows such as "The Jap Show" and "USC" (Ultimate Street Car).

History

References

See also