Xtrac

A Berkshire company that designs and makes transmissions and driveline parts for top-level motorsport and high-performance cars.

About Xtrac

Xtrac designs and manufactures transmission systems and driveline components for professional motorsport and high-performance road cars. Its products range from transmissions for factory-backed racing teams to lower-cost gearboxes for smaller teams, hypercar transmissions, and integrated transmissions for hybrid and electric vehicles.

It was founded in 1984 by Mike Endean, a former Hewland engineer. He and Chris Goddard had developed the first Xtrac four-wheel-drive system in 1983 for a rallycross driver, Martin Schanche. Its gearboxes have been used in Formula One, rally, IndyCar and sportscar racing. It supplied the 1007 transmission used in the Pagani Huayra, and was named sole gearbox and driveline supplier to NASCAR in an announcement in 2019. It also supplies gearboxes for the hybrid power units of LMDh cars.

The company is based in Berkshire. In 2000 it built an 8,200 square metre factory at Thatcham, in the Thames Valley area often called Motor Sport Valley. It also has sites in the United States. Its website says it has over 380 staff. A 2012 article described a headcount above 280 at that time, so the company has grown since. Its 2012 open day invited machinists, technicians, designers, apprentices and graduates to visit the Thatcham site. It also called itself UK-owned at the time.

The 2012 article described a stable workforce, with an average length of service above ten years according to the head of HR at the time, and a share scheme that lets every employee become a shareholder through the Employee Shareholder Trust. That is dated, so ask whether it still applies. The company presents itself as an ambassador for the UK's motorsport industry. The company presents itself as an ambassador for the UK's motorsport industry. Its customers include virtually all of the world's top motorsport teams. The 2012 article also said the firm was investing in new machine tools, a larger build shop and a research and development test lab.

Making a gearbox takes design and research engineers, CNC machinists, assembly technicians and fitters, project managers, and test and simulation staff. Customers expect precision at high speed, so the work is demanding but concrete. If you like gears, machining and data, Xtrac is a good example of British precision engineering.

What they do

• {'desc': 'Gearboxes and drivelines for racing teams, including factory entrants.', 'title': 'Motorsport transmissions'}
• {'desc': 'Specialist transmissions for high-performance road cars.', 'title': 'Hypercar transmissions'}
• {'desc': 'Highly integrated transmissions for electrified vehicles.', 'title': 'Hybrid and EV transmissions'}

Key facts

• Founded 1984 by Mike Endean
• 8,200 sq m factory built at Thatcham, Berkshire in 2000
• Over 380 staff (company page)
• Named sole NASCAR gearbox and driveline supplier (announced 2019)

Website: www.xtrac.com