COLLINS OPEN DAY
When Collins Performance decided to open their doors for customers to enjoy a look-around their Cheshire workshops, we knew they’d be a great turnout of awesome Fords on show. And we were right…
Awesome Fords on display at Collins Performance's open day.
Collins Performance Engineering has long been synonymous with the Ford tuning world, right back to the early days of Cossies and RS Turbos through to the very latest models. Indeed, many of the feature cars to grace these very pages over the years have had some input involving the Congleton-based company.
Recently, we were invited to attend their latest open day, organised by Jessica and Gary along with help from the rest of the Collins staff, where we could take a closer look at what goes on inside their hallowed workshops. Another bonus was we’d also be getting to see a number of their ongoing and completed projects too!
The open day proved to be incredibly popular, as expected, and not only was the adjacent car park packed full of modified Fords from the off, the remainder of the industrial estate and nearby streets soon began to fill up too. There were plenty of laughs and banter, discussing existing mods and chatting about future plans amongst those who attended.
With over 35 years’ experience in the
industry, Collins have always been keen to remain at the forefront when it comes to the development and manufacture of software and components. That wealth of experience is also beneficial when it comes to upgrading your car too, and the team are more than happy to talk through the various options in order to make the correct choice. With everything from brakes, suspension, interior and exterior mods right through to turbos and software upgrades, Collins can supply and fit pretty much everything on your wish list all in-house.
Their latest Superflow engine dyno is also on-hand to ensure those chosen mods are releasing their full potential, perfectly demonstrated by the Mustang 5.0 GT of Alex Gibbins with its recent CP460 remap – unsurprisingly a huge crowd had gathered to witness one of the star attractions of the day as the V8 sang.
In addition to the stunning Mustang, the Collins demo Fiesta ST we drove a few issues back – which is nearing the end of its CP5 development – also took to the rollers. Innocent this car may have looked, the CP5 package is undoubtedly set to be a serious performer, with over 340bhp on tap!
A Show ‘n’ Shine competition was a neat addition, while the raffle in memory of CP-friend, Glyn Fisher, raised £211 for Manorlands Charity too.
Aside from the Show ‘n’ Shine winners, the range of other cars on display was also impressive, many having travelled a sizeable distance to get there. From standard concours Fiestas through to Escort Cosworths and the latest STs and RSs, and of course, several 300bhp-plus Fiesta STs which have proved to be something of a CP speciality of late.
In short, there was something for everyone, and a thoroughly enjoyable day out! Here’s just a few of the cars that caught our eye on the day…