Man who bought 240 Land Rover Defenders to make huge profit reveals the ambitious new project he has planned

Charles Fawcett, the founder of Twisted Automotive, made headlines across the internet when he bought 240 Land Rover Defenders and made a huge profit.

He’d caught wind of the news that they were being discontinued and came up with a plan – to buy up 240 of the off-roaders and modify them.

It was a risky gamble, but it paid off handsomely.

Speaking to Supercar Blondie, Fawcett has opened up about what inspires him, why he’s drawn to Land Rovers, and what lies in store for Twisted Automotive.

Charles Fawcett saw a lot of interesting takes on the Land Rover brand from an early age

After 33 years, Land Rover Defenders ceased production back in 2016.

It was a sad day for the car world, and one that Charles Fawcett didn’t want to let pass quietly into the night.

He had a bold idea – to buy up more than 200 of them and modify them to take them to a whole other level.

He managed to broker a deal to acquire 240 Defenders for around $30,600 each, around $7.3 million total.

From there, he headed up operations at Twisted Automotive, turning out bespoke Defenders for customers.

Although not plain sailing, the gamble has paid off for Fawcett, with some models selling for as much as $200,000 or even $300,000 each.

It’s been a rip-roaring success – and at the heart of the company is passion.

“The company is a significant beast with 220 strong staff, in about 14 locations covering everything from hand-formed metalwork to carbon fibre, boat production, vehicle production,” Fawcett told Supercar Blondie.

“Everything Twisted has done so far, we’ve done because it was a passion of mine.

“We’ve managed to build a phenomenal team of people that for the first 25 years ran with my ideas and turned them into real things. And that’s everybody from the guys and girls in the workshops, part department to the sales team and senior management.”

Range Rovers – part of the wider Land Rover family – have also become part of Twisted’s raison d’être.

And that owes its roots to Fawcett’s childhood.

“It was always a passion of mine to build one. It was a nostalgic moment for me,” Fawcett admitted.

“My father had one when I was a kid. He did certain things to it that I thought were ahead of its time. And I’ve tried to recreate that.”

Turns out that the apple doesn’t fall far from the Fawcett family tree, as his dad was a big car guy too.

“In the late 70s and very early 80s, he had a business. He was building trailers and then he moved into Land Rovers and he was turning Range Rovers into pick-ups and putting an extra axle on them for the six-wheel drive and just all sorts of wacky stuff,” Fawcett said.

“After that, he was just normal motor trade, but he always specialized in unique vehicles.

“It was always oddball stuff, he would call it. And I guess from being as early as I can remember to being 16 or 17 or 18, every week there’d be half a dozen different cars turn up.

“And through the 80s and 90s, cars were so analogue. And [My dad’s cars] all had their own character. They all had their own little quirks.”

In the present day, Twisted Automotive is a big operation – 45 Defenders are expected to undergo work this year, with each one taking roughly 2,500 hours to complete.

As for the Range Rovers, Twisted aims to put out 12 a year, due to being more labor intensive, expensive, and with good quality donors harder to come by.

But despite the scale of the operations, Fawcett said his company is not trying to be a ‘major manufacturer’.

“We’re not trying to be Land Rover. We’re just trying to maintain the personal level,” Fawcett explained.

“The personal element of the product. The reality is, nobody needs one.

“There’s no point in owning one – other than how it makes you feel. These things are a complete passion purchase.”

What lies ahead for Twisted Automotive?

Fawcett wasn’t explicit about what future vehicles would be added to the range further down the line, but he did drop a hint.

“They’re similar in ethos to the Land Rover, but different range, different products,” he said.

Watch this space.

What he was open about was his wider ambitions for the company.

“We intend to build a Twisted at some point. The desire is, in fact, to create the Twisted vehicle. Like the ultimate version,” Fawcett said.

“The ultimate version of the thing we do. Just completely bespoke, ground up, let’s just go for it.”

And then there’s the prospect of adding boats to the whole operation.

You may recall that this was teased back in a 2022 interview with Powerhouse & Rib.

That’s where Twisted Marine came into existence, looking to bring luxury-customization to Rigid Inflatable Boats (RIBs) – the ‘4x4s of the sea’ as Fawcett called them.

“I just really fancied doing something with boats. So, we ended up doing something with boats,” Fawcett explained.

“We bought a RIB manufacturer, and not any RIB manufacturer. Scorpion are the absolute cream of RIBs produced in the UK.

“The hull is phenomenal, and we were very fortunate to be in a position to actually acquire that. So now we build the boats.

“It’s all come off the back of passion, and being in a very fortunate position that I could throw an idea at someone and they would run with it.”

Interview by: Henry Kelsall