Charismatic and colourful, the power-drenched elliptical outline of the V12 piston-engined Spitfire remains one that brings a smile to the faces of onlookers everywhere. Forces Cars Direct is immensely fortunate to be based in the County of Lincolnshire, which is home to the RAF Memorial Flight that makes Spitfire test flights, with their memorable 1,030bhp sound effects, regularly over the City of Lincoln.
It is astonishing that a £10,000 initial contribution was made by the Air Ministry in 1934, to build the first Spitfire, a plane that would soon be produced in greater numbers than any other British aircraft. Immensely popular, even 73 years after the end of WW2, there are still 54 airworthy examples, with many others ‘in build’, or restoration.
While there are many different commercial organisations, from finance to fireworks, and agricultural suppliers to clothing firms, prepared to supply their own models of defence and use Spitfire as a brand name, I still covet a Spitfire chair (which I could not afford) that would have made a centrepiece in my living-room.
Yet, some of the best inventions are often stumbled upon without prior planning. With CCM, it is definitely the case. Its story follows a genuine bikers’ journey into business. In 1971, Alan Clews would wait patiently for Friday to roll around, when he would go out weekend competing in international scramble and trials events.
When his request to purchase a works BSA scrambler was rejected, he decided to build his own competition bike in his domestic garage. Eventually, he formed Clews Competition Machines. Forty-seven years ago, his products started to become synonymous with multiple international successes in motocross, flat-track, trials, supermoto and road racing competition.
Fuelled by pure passion, the workshop team spent many days talking about a dream bike; one without the usual constraints of design, objectivity and bureaucracy; a bike that would allow creativity to flow. In a flurry of excitement, the project was given a green light and Spitfire was born.
CCM does things differently. It sells bikes directly to its customers, without middlemen. The company threw caution to the wind, tossing away an outdated dealership model and preferred to deal with customers directly (there are some parallels with FCD). The level of service is unheard of in the motorcycle industry. Yet, the brand stays competitive, removes ‘hard sell’ tactics, deals with issues quickly and efficiently, but, more importantly, builds stronger customer relationships.
While not exceeding the vast number of RJ Mitchell Spitfire aircraft produced, over 1,200 Spitfire orders have been supplied. They are available to order in the UK only, leaving the rest of the world to be frustrated at not being able to get their hands on such an amazing motorcycle. However, the export market will open soon for CCM.
Austin Clews, CCM’s managing director and son of founder, Alan Clews, told us: “These are very exciting times for CCM. We have a growth plan to increase UK sales and to export into new territories and bring a fresh experience to the customer that is tried and tested in the UK by giving them exactly what they want.”
