1. Nismo (Nissan): Abbreviated for NIssan MOtorosports International, the branch of company takes care of taking the cars to the gym for beefing up. A seperate entity now under Nissan the company was formed in 1984 with the merger of Special Car Testing division and Publication Division 3. The first car built under Nismo was the Saurus.
What followed after the Saurus was Nissan's global success, the GT-R Skyline.
The company provides spoilers and diffusers, alloy wheels, engine and suspension parts for all Nissan, Datsun and Infiniti cars. An annual Nismo fest is also held to show off the Nismo designs every year.
website: http://www.nismo.co.jp/
2. Abarth (Fiat): Abarth was created as a separate entity than Fiat in 1949 by Austrian Italian Carlo Abarth. After years of successful racing results Fiat finally decided to buy out the performance company in 1971 after which Porsche and Simca did not get the performance support and Fiat was the sole benefactor. Some models built by Fiat or its subsidiaries Lancia and Autobianchi were co-branded Abarth, the most famous being the Autobianchi A112 Abarth, probably the most popular "Boyracer" vehicle of its time on account of its lightness and low price.
For comparison, a 2007 Fiat 1.4 500 makes 100 horses and 130nm of torque from its stock engine. Abarth engineers unveiled to the market an Abarth Assetto Corse 500 with 200 horses and 300nm of torque.
The brand did see a dip in market recognition during the 1990's and 2000's but Fiat relaunched it in 2007 looking at the compeition with a Fiat Punto Abarth. www.abarth.it
3. STI (Subaru): Subaru Technica International is the motorsports division of Fuji Heavy Industries Car brand Subaru. The company specializes in the preparation of a variety of vehicles for the Subaru World Rally Team which competed in the World Rally Championship (WRC). Formed in 1988 Subaru's STI was one of the last entrants in the field from Japan.
Traditionally "Cherry Blossom Red", as it's called in the US or "Rubine Red" as it's known in Australia (both of which are actually rather pink) is used as STi's signature color. It is seen as a masculine colour in Japanese culture. STI also provides parts for racing and street applications in Japan. In the US, STI parts are distributed and sold by SPT (Subaru Performance Tuning) although increasingly they are being made available under the STi name. http://www.subaru-sti.co.jp
4. F (Lexus): The newest performance division from Lexus was formed in 2006. The "F" stands from flagship and Fuji Speedway which is the main testing site for Lexus performance cars. The company started operations by launching the Lexus IS-F model in 2006.
The company launched a production supercar in 2010 to compete directly with Nissan GT-R and Lancer FQ successfully with a4.8 L 1LR-GUE V10 engine.
The accessory line from 'F' series is branded as F-Sport and the company is currently working on "F" versions for the complete Lexus lineup. www.lexus.com/f-sport
5.MazdaSpeed (Mazda): MazdaSpeed began life as Mazda Sports corner in 1968 through a local Japanese dealer for his performance and racing team. In 1991, Mazdaspeed car won at Le Mans, a feat no other Japanese team has managed.
Mazda took over complete ownership in 1999 of what was now MazdaSpeed. The predecessor of Mazda 3, the Protege was the first actual car to have the MazdaSpeed treatment.
Mazdapseed is now applied to the complete lineup from the company and a dedicated racing tournament is also held. www.mazdausa.com
6. AMG (Mercedes-Benz): Formed in 1967, the company was then known as AMG Engine Production and Development, Ltd. The letters "AMG" stand for Aufrecht, Melcher and Grobaspach. In 1990, Daimler-Benz AG and AMG signed a contract of cooperation, allowing AMG to leverage Daimler-Benz's extensive dealer network and leading to commonly developed vehicles. On 1 January 1999 the company acquired 51 percent of AMG shares, and AMG was renamed to Mercedes-AMG GmbH. On 1 January 2005 Aufrecht sold his remaining shares to DaimlerChrysler, and since then it has been a wholly owned subsidiary.
AMG is only one of the few company performance divisions that handle complete engine changes. AMG is also the supplier of engines for the Pagani's Zonda supercar.
While AMG remains the company arm, Brabus, Renntech and Kleemann also specialise in only Mercedes-Benz performance cars.www.Mercedes-AMG.com
7. SRT (Chrysler): Short for Street and Racing Technology, SRT was formed in 2004 with the merger of performance arms for Plymouth and Dodge Viper. Unlike with other companies, SRT is used by chrysler for all Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles.
The number that follows the "SRT" prefix denotes the number of engine cylinders the vehicle has. For example the Chrysler 300C has a 5.7L Hemi V-8; Therefore the SRT version is known as the Chrysler 300C SRT-8, which has a 6.1L Hemi V-8. Similarly, the Dodge Viper SRT-10 along with the Dodge Ram SRT-10 have an 8.3L V-10.
Apart from SRT, Dodge cars also use R/T monikers (Road and Track) for their cars. www.drivesrt.com
8. Quattro (Audi)- Quattro was initially the All wheel drive system derived by Audi to compete with BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Later a sports car was named by Audi as Quattro in 1980. Finally Audi took over Quattro as the name of its performance division in 1983.
Quattro primarily specializes in producing high performance Audi cars and components, along with purchaser specified customizations. While not marketed openly, Quattro GMBH is also responsible or high performance Audis like the RS4, S and the R8. Also Quattro is not allowed to sell directly to the public like other performance arms. However, it does now sell 'quattro GmbH' branded lifestyle products and accessories via Audi franchised outlets.
A similar operation called "Volkswagen Individual GmbH", founded February 2003, is provided for Audi's VW Group sister company Volkswagen Passenger cars at Wolfsburg. Volkswagen Individual GmbH produce the Volkswagen ".:R" series of cars, including the Golf R32 and the latest Passat R36, and are also able to provide purchaser requested customisations under the "Volkswagen Individual" label, similar to "Audi exclusive", during the initial factory manufacturing process. This service is also offered routinely to purchasers of Volkswagen Passenger Cars 'flagship' models - the Phaeton and the Touareg, at their respective plants.
www.audi.com, http://microsites.audi.co.uk/microsites/SLine
9. SVO/ SVT (Ford): SVO stands for Special Vehicle Operations under Ford Motor Company. Founded in 1981, SVO was one of the pioneers to design and develop performance parts and accessories related to the company's racing programs. The first ever car built was the Mustang SVO. The SVO Mustang was designed to compete directly with European sports sedans like BMW 3 Series.
Lately, Ford has let the SVO brand stay in the background, but a Ford Mustang 2015 version is to debut under SVO plate. Under the absence of SVO, Ford has let Special Vehicles Team (SVT) take to the forefront. Ford is planning to globalise their SVT operations.
Speculation suggests that as a result of Ford's plan to globalize their vehicles, SVT and the European RS division will merge, thus aligning all American and European performance vehicle activity together. www.fordperformancegroup.com
10. M-BMW: BMW M, also known as M-Technik or just "M" (for Motorsport) was initially created in 1972 to facilitate BMW’s racing program, which was very successful in the 1960s and 1970s. Later, BMW M began to supplement BMW's vehicles portfolio with specially modified higher trim models. These M-badged cars traditionally include modified engines, transmissions, suspensions, interior trims, aerodynamics, and exterior modifications to set them apart from their counterparts.
Vehicles which have been modified by BMW Motorsport, but are not full M Cars, may feature "M" badges, whilst full M Cars will have "M" badges with the model number. In recent years, there have been M-badged accessories available on non-M cars, usually as factory options
Cars under the Mini Cooper Brand and Rolls Royce brand do not use the M lineup of parts. Like Brabus, BMW supplies cars to Alpina for performance enhancements which operates independantly. http://www.bmw-m.de.com/
Special Mention
Mustang- Shelby: While there are performance brands for multi brands or complete brand line-ups, one car stands out. The Shelby Mustang has its own charm that wins against any other Mustang version or Shelby tuned car. The Shelby Mustang grille replaces the running horse logo with that of a Cobra which is now equally recognized over the world. www.shelbyautos.com
Ralliart (Mitsubishi): Founded in 1984, Ralliart is the only Company performance division which was as well known as the company itself. The operations were scaled down in 2010, but Ralliart brand will be continued on performance vehicles after the loss making company was hit badly during the recession. Licensed by the Ralliart division, Mitsubishi's UK arm builds a special version of the Lancer Evolution which is more powerful than any of its siblings badged as FQ (which stands for Fucking Quick) . The FQ models have been tested to be better performing than Super-cars like the Koeniggsegg, Ferrari and Lamborghini. www.ralliart.com
*- Information sourced from various articles including www.wikipedia.com
What followed after the Saurus was Nissan's global success, the GT-R Skyline.
The company provides spoilers and diffusers, alloy wheels, engine and suspension parts for all Nissan, Datsun and Infiniti cars. An annual Nismo fest is also held to show off the Nismo designs every year.
website: http://www.nismo.co.jp/
2. Abarth (Fiat): Abarth was created as a separate entity than Fiat in 1949 by Austrian Italian Carlo Abarth. After years of successful racing results Fiat finally decided to buy out the performance company in 1971 after which Porsche and Simca did not get the performance support and Fiat was the sole benefactor. Some models built by Fiat or its subsidiaries Lancia and Autobianchi were co-branded Abarth, the most famous being the Autobianchi A112 Abarth, probably the most popular "Boyracer" vehicle of its time on account of its lightness and low price.
For comparison, a 2007 Fiat 1.4 500 makes 100 horses and 130nm of torque from its stock engine. Abarth engineers unveiled to the market an Abarth Assetto Corse 500 with 200 horses and 300nm of torque.
The brand did see a dip in market recognition during the 1990's and 2000's but Fiat relaunched it in 2007 looking at the compeition with a Fiat Punto Abarth. www.abarth.it
3. STI (Subaru): Subaru Technica International is the motorsports division of Fuji Heavy Industries Car brand Subaru. The company specializes in the preparation of a variety of vehicles for the Subaru World Rally Team which competed in the World Rally Championship (WRC). Formed in 1988 Subaru's STI was one of the last entrants in the field from Japan.
Traditionally "Cherry Blossom Red", as it's called in the US or "Rubine Red" as it's known in Australia (both of which are actually rather pink) is used as STi's signature color. It is seen as a masculine colour in Japanese culture. STI also provides parts for racing and street applications in Japan. In the US, STI parts are distributed and sold by SPT (Subaru Performance Tuning) although increasingly they are being made available under the STi name. http://www.subaru-sti.co.jp
4. F (Lexus): The newest performance division from Lexus was formed in 2006. The "F" stands from flagship and Fuji Speedway which is the main testing site for Lexus performance cars. The company started operations by launching the Lexus IS-F model in 2006.
The company launched a production supercar in 2010 to compete directly with Nissan GT-R and Lancer FQ successfully with a4.8 L 1LR-GUE V10 engine.
The accessory line from 'F' series is branded as F-Sport and the company is currently working on "F" versions for the complete Lexus lineup. www.lexus.com/f-sport
5.MazdaSpeed (Mazda): MazdaSpeed began life as Mazda Sports corner in 1968 through a local Japanese dealer for his performance and racing team. In 1991, Mazdaspeed car won at Le Mans, a feat no other Japanese team has managed.
Mazda took over complete ownership in 1999 of what was now MazdaSpeed. The predecessor of Mazda 3, the Protege was the first actual car to have the MazdaSpeed treatment.
Mazdapseed is now applied to the complete lineup from the company and a dedicated racing tournament is also held. www.mazdausa.com
6. AMG (Mercedes-Benz): Formed in 1967, the company was then known as AMG Engine Production and Development, Ltd. The letters "AMG" stand for Aufrecht, Melcher and Grobaspach. In 1990, Daimler-Benz AG and AMG signed a contract of cooperation, allowing AMG to leverage Daimler-Benz's extensive dealer network and leading to commonly developed vehicles. On 1 January 1999 the company acquired 51 percent of AMG shares, and AMG was renamed to Mercedes-AMG GmbH. On 1 January 2005 Aufrecht sold his remaining shares to DaimlerChrysler, and since then it has been a wholly owned subsidiary.
AMG is only one of the few company performance divisions that handle complete engine changes. AMG is also the supplier of engines for the Pagani's Zonda supercar.
While AMG remains the company arm, Brabus, Renntech and Kleemann also specialise in only Mercedes-Benz performance cars.www.Mercedes-AMG.com
7. SRT (Chrysler): Short for Street and Racing Technology, SRT was formed in 2004 with the merger of performance arms for Plymouth and Dodge Viper. Unlike with other companies, SRT is used by chrysler for all Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles.
The number that follows the "SRT" prefix denotes the number of engine cylinders the vehicle has. For example the Chrysler 300C has a 5.7L Hemi V-8; Therefore the SRT version is known as the Chrysler 300C SRT-8, which has a 6.1L Hemi V-8. Similarly, the Dodge Viper SRT-10 along with the Dodge Ram SRT-10 have an 8.3L V-10.
Apart from SRT, Dodge cars also use R/T monikers (Road and Track) for their cars. www.drivesrt.com
8. Quattro (Audi)- Quattro was initially the All wheel drive system derived by Audi to compete with BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Later a sports car was named by Audi as Quattro in 1980. Finally Audi took over Quattro as the name of its performance division in 1983.
Quattro primarily specializes in producing high performance Audi cars and components, along with purchaser specified customizations. While not marketed openly, Quattro GMBH is also responsible or high performance Audis like the RS4, S and the R8. Also Quattro is not allowed to sell directly to the public like other performance arms. However, it does now sell 'quattro GmbH' branded lifestyle products and accessories via Audi franchised outlets.
A similar operation called "Volkswagen Individual GmbH", founded February 2003, is provided for Audi's VW Group sister company Volkswagen Passenger cars at Wolfsburg. Volkswagen Individual GmbH produce the Volkswagen ".:R" series of cars, including the Golf R32 and the latest Passat R36, and are also able to provide purchaser requested customisations under the "Volkswagen Individual" label, similar to "Audi exclusive", during the initial factory manufacturing process. This service is also offered routinely to purchasers of Volkswagen Passenger Cars 'flagship' models - the Phaeton and the Touareg, at their respective plants.
www.audi.com, http://microsites.audi.co.uk/microsites/SLine
9. SVO/ SVT (Ford): SVO stands for Special Vehicle Operations under Ford Motor Company. Founded in 1981, SVO was one of the pioneers to design and develop performance parts and accessories related to the company's racing programs. The first ever car built was the Mustang SVO. The SVO Mustang was designed to compete directly with European sports sedans like BMW 3 Series.
Lately, Ford has let the SVO brand stay in the background, but a Ford Mustang 2015 version is to debut under SVO plate. Under the absence of SVO, Ford has let Special Vehicles Team (SVT) take to the forefront. Ford is planning to globalise their SVT operations.
Speculation suggests that as a result of Ford's plan to globalize their vehicles, SVT and the European RS division will merge, thus aligning all American and European performance vehicle activity together. www.fordperformancegroup.com
10. M-BMW: BMW M, also known as M-Technik or just "M" (for Motorsport) was initially created in 1972 to facilitate BMW’s racing program, which was very successful in the 1960s and 1970s. Later, BMW M began to supplement BMW's vehicles portfolio with specially modified higher trim models. These M-badged cars traditionally include modified engines, transmissions, suspensions, interior trims, aerodynamics, and exterior modifications to set them apart from their counterparts.
Vehicles which have been modified by BMW Motorsport, but are not full M Cars, may feature "M" badges, whilst full M Cars will have "M" badges with the model number. In recent years, there have been M-badged accessories available on non-M cars, usually as factory options
Cars under the Mini Cooper Brand and Rolls Royce brand do not use the M lineup of parts. Like Brabus, BMW supplies cars to Alpina for performance enhancements which operates independantly. http://www.bmw-m.de.com/
Special Mention
Mustang- Shelby: While there are performance brands for multi brands or complete brand line-ups, one car stands out. The Shelby Mustang has its own charm that wins against any other Mustang version or Shelby tuned car. The Shelby Mustang grille replaces the running horse logo with that of a Cobra which is now equally recognized over the world. www.shelbyautos.com
Ralliart (Mitsubishi): Founded in 1984, Ralliart is the only Company performance division which was as well known as the company itself. The operations were scaled down in 2010, but Ralliart brand will be continued on performance vehicles after the loss making company was hit badly during the recession. Licensed by the Ralliart division, Mitsubishi's UK arm builds a special version of the Lancer Evolution which is more powerful than any of its siblings badged as FQ (which stands for Fucking Quick) . The FQ models have been tested to be better performing than Super-cars like the Koeniggsegg, Ferrari and Lamborghini. www.ralliart.com
*- Information sourced from various articles including www.wikipedia.com
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