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Immico setting the pace as products set brand apart – on and off-track

Writer's picture: Russell AtkinsRussell Atkins




• Premium road-going products the result of sustained on-track success

• Herts-based thermal management start-up prides itself on in-house expertise

• Enhanced performance and reliability courtesy of cutting-edge solutions


In the fast-paced world of motor racing, nobody ever stands still – and it is Immico’s involvement at the very heart of the sport that enables the brand to outpace its competitors on the road as well as on the track.

Since its foundation in 2019, Immico has equipped the most recent two British Touring Car Championship-winning cars, while concurrently proving its prowess on the international stage in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

A global manufacturer of high-quality thermal management products for combustion engines, the Sarratt, Herts-based start-up prides itself on attention-to-detail – and that, explains Managing Director Stuart Thorp, is what truly sets Immico apart from its rivals.




“We use CAD software for our design concepts, and in-house methods of production,” he reveals. “We do our own 3D printing for our tools, and we can make fully bespoke heat shielding and installation products in accordance with what the customer requires. We’ve done a lot of testing with teams in the sport, which provides plenty of useful data. We commonly see between 75-85 per cent temperature reduction on the outside surface of the heat shield, which massively brings down engine bay temperatures.

“Not only that, but we tested with one of the BTCC teams comparing back-to-back with and without our manifold clamshell, and with it, the inner exhaust temperature was 80 degrees higher. The heat is retained inside the system, which is a lot more efficient for the engine.

“We similarly found advantages in the charge temperature, which was one to one-and-a-half degrees lower, resulting in a small horsepower lift simply by adding our thermal management solution to the car. That means the cars that don’t use our product are going to be struggling to gain that vital last tenth-of-a-second that could make all the difference.

“We’ve also collected some downpipe data since the current hybrid system was introduced in the BTCC. With our heat shielding applied, the ECU temperature was 20 degrees lower, so you’re protecting the entire car and the lifespan of other products, while simultaneously enhancing reliability. That allows teams to test for longer because they’re not worried about the car overheating, and the same applies regarding the dynamometer. You can run all day, and it will probably be the dyno that gives up first!”

Much of motor racing is about the transfer of technologies from the racetrack to the road, with many manufacturers entering the sport in order to refine their innovations to the nth degree in the most demanding environments around.




For Immico, it is no different. Recognising that in this day and age and in such a competitive industry, one size doesn’t necessarily fit all, the company produces fully bespoke solutions for high-performance race cars and road cars alike. Having recently acquired a second premises, the aim now is to bring even more manufacturing capabilities in-house to allow for greater flexibility and customisation.

“With the methods we’ve developed, we can fully cater for everything from one-off requests all the way to mass-production,” says Stuart. “Heat is a massive variable to control when you have a lot of horsepower, but our heat shields provide maximum coverage to allow the turbo to perform at its best.




“Our products are designed to last and to continue to perform as new throughout their life cycle. Having done a lot of development on the tooling we use, we always strive for the highest quality – and alongside performance, it has to look really good as well. If it’s for somebody’s pride and joy of a car, they don’t want something that looks like it’s just been cobbled together. Everything about it needs to be premium.”

On current form, it seems Immico is primed to continue setting the pace – both on and off-track – for some time to come...




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