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You can trace the origins of West Sussex-based Copthorne Classics some way beyond when the firm was founded in 2016.
This story begins with a five-year-old boy, gleefully staring at his father’s newly acquired DB6 in 1997 – and follows a family journey through a series of classic Aston Martins.
That boy was called Lee Davies – and, thanks to a namesake tradition spanning three generations, so is his father.
Together they have created a British-car specialist founded in family values and focused on Aston and Jaguar.
It was inevitable. By the time Davies Jnr left school, only one career was on his mind.
He joined a Rolls-Royce and Bentley workshop as an apprentice, and began learning the trade that supported the family’s interest.
After a year he moved to an Aston specialist, and finally worked under the wing of a former Jaguar engineer, learning all he could before his retirement.
Davies Snr was supportive of his son’s choices from the moment he first picked up a spanner.
“I could see the value in his apprenticeships,” he says, proudly, “and during that time plans were hatched to start our own family business.”
This father-and-son team share a passion for – and deep knowledge of – cars in the traditional mould.
The business is shaped on experience of both sides of the counter: son as an engineer, and father as a lifelong customer.
“Since establishing our workshop in early 2017, we’ve worked hard to balance a premium customer experience with a family feel,” says Davies Snr, “and to specialise in cars that fuel our interest.”
You feel it as you walk in the door. Pass through reception and you’ll step into a preparation area, with long-term projects nearing completion: an Alvis 3 Litre coupé and a Daimler Sovereign S2.
One door leads to an immaculate engine room with Jaguar XKs and V12s mid-assembly, while another takes you to the main workshop that forms the heart of the operation.
Here there’s a representative spread of vehicles – from those visiting briefly for light servicing to more involved restorations and engine surgery. The business thrives on repeat visits and word-of-mouth recommendation.
“Alongside classic and modern-classic Astons, we do our fair share of E-types and Mk2s,” says Davies Jnr, “but we’ve found demand for later-generation cars with carefully selected upgrades for performance and drivability.”
Here he means XJs and XJ-Ss, often true to their period rather than outright restomods.
The Daimler we saw earlier is a perfect example: it’s a full rebuild, but with a manual ’box, triple SUs and a host of tweaks to help its 4.2-litre ‘six’ achieve near-V12 levels of power.
An XJC is being dismantled for the same treatment – simply because its owner had seen the work in progress on the first car.
“The XJ is a prototype for a package of upgrades we plan to launch later this year,” says Davies Jnr.
“The S1 and S2 are more usable than Mk2s, and they respond well to tuning – plus everything we do is sympathetic to the original car.”
Davies also has plans for Series 3s, and has secured an XJ-S prototype for late summer, too.
Although there’s a focus on the cars of Newport Pagnell and Coventry, the portfolio extends to other British marques.
A scroll through the busy Instagram feed reveals work on everything from AC to MG – and a fair few Lotus models in between. It’s the mixture of a traditional work ethic with a progressive vision that’s interesting.
The firm can be relied on for the usual services, but because every turn of a spanner is carried out by a father-and-son team, it brings a cross-generational experience – not only to the eras of British classic cars they work on, but also to the ideas they bring to life.
Images: Will Williams
The knowledge
- Name Copthorne Classics
- Address Unit 10, Barns Court, Turners Hill Road, Copthorne, West Sussex RH10 4HQ
- Specialism Aston Martin, Jaguar and British classics
- Staff Three
- Prices £95 per hour (with discounts for project work)
- Tel 01342 712600
- Web copthorneclassicgarage.com
- Email info@copthorneclassics.com
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