Guy set to make millions after buying 200 Land Rover Defenders has a similar business idea for American boats
- Man set to make millions after buying 200 Land Rover Defenders
- Now he’s doing the same for an American boat brand
- He considers the RIBs the ‘4x4s of the sea’
Published on Jan 07, 2025 at 6:46 PM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Last updated on Jan 08, 2025 at 11:37 AM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
A businessman who’s set to make millions after a gamble of buying a fleet of 200 Land Rover Defender cars now has a similar entrepreneurial idea for boats in the US.
He believes that Rigid Inflatable Boats (RIBs) are the ‘4x4s of the sea’.
He plans to bring the same craftsmanship and performance from Land Rover Defenders to the water.
The first boat has completed testing and is ready for use.
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Businessman behind Land Rover Defender empire
Meet Charles Fawcett, founder of Twisted — a company specializing in bespoke modified Land Rover Defenders.
It all began with the introduction of Land Rover-specific parts, with the first Twisted TD5 90 demo vehicle hitting the road by 2003.
However, Fawcett then had the foresight to buy 200 Land Rovers in 2015.
The bulk buy was the largest stockpile of the ‘last of the line’ undriven Defenders.
Now, people are offering him hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy just one of his custom-made cars – especially now the 2024 Land Rover Defender has lost its iconic steel wheels.
However, they probably don’t have a pizza oven like Lando Norris’ Land Rover
Or should that be Lando Rover?
He plans to do the same for boats
While his empire has taken off on land – he now plans to conquer the water by turning his attention to boats.
Twisted is expanding the brand to include marine projects – with a focus on boats from the American boat brand, Scarab.
Twisted Marine focuses on modifying RIBs, which Fawcett dubbed the ‘4x4s of the sea’.
The Twisted T450 is the first vessel and, after completing testing, is ready for use.
Like its Land Rover Defender offering, its focus will be on bespoke luxury modifications and durable partnerships.
“My family, and in particular my father, have all shared a long-standing love of boats…” he said in a 2022 interview with Powerboat & Rib.
He explained his business idea: “I came to appreciate the synergy that Rigid Inflatable Boats (RIBs) held in terms of the 4×4 concept I had come to know so intimately through my history with Land Rover.
“So, from the spark of an idea ignited by Scarab through to formulating a valid Twisted Marine business working with RIBs, the ‘4x4s of the sea’, the concept started to become reality.”
All Supercar Blondie contributors undergo editorial review and fact-checking to ensure accuracy and authority in automotive journalism. After gaining her BA Hons in French and English at the University of Nottingham, Amelia embarked on a vocational diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). This led to numerous opportunities, from interning at Vogue to being on the small team that launched Women’s Health magazine in the UK, which was named the PPA Consumer magazine of the year for three years running. As Health, Beauty and Fitness editor, Amelia personally received a Johnson & Johnson Award and was shortlisted for both PPA and BSME titles. Since then, Amelia has created content for numerous titles and brands, including the Telegraph, 111 Skin, Waitrose, Red magazine, Stylist, and Elle, as well as being Head of Content at Vitality and Editor in Chief at INLondon magazine. “My superpower is translating technical jargon about the mechanical workings of a supercar into a relatable story you’ll want to share with your friends after you’ve read it.” After joining the SB Media family as a senior journalist in September of 2023, Amelia’s role has evolved to see her heading up the SEO output of the editorial team. From researching the most ‘Google-able’ key terms to producing evergreen content - it’s been a time of hard work, growth, and success for the editorial team and the Supercar Blondie website. “I like to think of myself as a ‘method journalist’. In other words: I live and breathe whatever I am writing about. When writing about fitness, I trained as a personal trainer, and as a beauty editor, I completed an ‘expert’ in scent diploma with the Fragrance Foundation. “During my tenure at Supercar Blondie, however, I did something I never thought possible: I passed my driving test at the age of 36. One day I’d love to train as a mechanic to better understand what happens under the hood, too. “My sweet spot is providing readers with a ‘takeaway’ (read: something new they didn’t know before) after reading every one of my stories. While I don’t claim to be an expert in the automotive world, I know the experts and bodies in the field to rely on to provide our readers with an informative and thought-provoking story every time they visit the site.”
