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      01-19-2010, 02:31 PM   #143
AP Racing - Chris_B
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aus View Post
Chris, is AP part of Brembo? I thought I read somewhere AP is under the Brembo umbrella now???

Thanks for the good info here.
The ownership of Brembo purchased AP Racing back in 1999 to avoid its hostile takeover by another family member. It is a long story that should be told over a few beers as it includes money, women, power and a very well-known German sports car manufacturer. Maybe they will write a book about it some day!

Today, both brands still run completely separately (AP being based in the UK and Brembo in Italy). They both compete, but have to answer to the same guy at the end of the day. Essentially, the customers of both companies benefit as neither can sit on their laurels.

The way it tends to work is that Brembo is more set up for higher volume manufacturing (think: Subaru, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Porsche, GM, Chrysler, BMW, plus Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, etc.), plus their solid racing programs. AP Racing is either top-level racing (F1, NASCAR, LeMans, Daytona Prototypes, FIA GT, SuperGT and so on) or limited-production supercars such as Bugatti, Gumpert, Lotus, McLaren, Spyker, Koenigsegg, Ultima, Noble, Rossion, Tramontana, Caparo, GTA, Pagani and a bunch more. The smaller manufacturers like the intimate engineering team that is equipped for more rapid response and custom-tailored programs.

Both companies make excellent equipment, but don't share much data at all. For their part, the Brembo group did end up with the leading manufacturer of racing clutches in the world, avoiding the cost of their own development program had they chosen to create one.

Sorry for the wordy (but very abbreviated) answer, but a simple "yes" does not really convey the essence of what transpired.

Chris
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