Back in 1980, the first-ever Tillett seat was designed and the brand was born - jump ahead to today and Tillett Racing Seats have become synonymous with top-tier performance and safety on the track.
Steve Tillett started karting in 1978, marking the start of his obsession with the sport. It was around this time when sticky tyres were first introduced, giving Steve and many others problems with bruised ribs, mainly caused by the poorly shaped seats.
Steve’s father, Alec, was a vintage and veteran car upholsterer who was often commissioned to repair and recover the seats of the horse drawn carriages at the Royal Muse, so being a skilled craftsman he naturally came up with a solution to the problem.
The idea was to stick a fabric he used to line the boots of Rolls Royce’s onto the seat. It seemed to work perfectly, not only holding the driver secure but also stopping the continual sliding around. Taking the hard edge off the fibreglass shell made the kart's aggressive cornering speeds much less damaging to the body.
As Steve developed his concept further he introduced strategically placed padding underneath the cover, as a result, bruising became almost non-existent and the lumps that were accepted as normal after a day of racing had disappeared. It didn’t take long for friends to become interested and were soon all asking for their seats to be covered, all of them instantly feeling the benefits. Then, while assisting his friend in various European and World Championship races, Steve acquired experience in an arena with even higher levels of grip and demands on the drivers' bodies.
As Steve perfected his craft, he progressed and began sculpturing his own fibreglass shell designs to allow more size options with much better support. And so, just like that the first ever Tillett Racing Seats had officially been made.
Tillett Racing Seats has grown from a one-man operation in Steve’s dad’s garage, to a workforce of 50 people based in a brand new purpose-built 22,000-square-foot factory. There is now a Tillett dealer in most countries worldwide and has established itself as a quality brand within the motorsport industry.
Over the years, Tillett Racing Seats have helped and sponsored some of the biggest stars in the motorsport world. Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, Michael Schumacher, Lando Norris, Kimi Raikkonen, Jenson Button, Paul Di Resta, Anthony Davidson, Valtteri Bottas, Lance Stroll, Alex Albon are just a few of the F1 drivers past and present who have used Tillett seats whilst kart racing.
The management of Tillett Racing Seats has developed over the years, with Steve enlisting the help of his son Archie and daughter Laura to run the business today. Together the trio have travelled all over the world to develop their products in the most competitive arenas possible. By staying in constant contact with the top international race teams, manufacturers and drivers, they have ensured the products stay in tune with the latest chassis trends, allowing Tillett to consistently stay ahead of the competition.
By introducing Archie and Laura to the business, Steve ensured that the business would never lose sight of its racing roots. Both were brought up in a culture of motorsports, with kart racing playing a significant role in their upbringing. Laura’s journey as a racing driver saw her progress to become the first-ever British female driver to qualify and compete in the official FIA World Karting Championships at the highest FSA level, before moving on to cars and competing in the likes of the MRF Challenge and the Volkswagen Cup Championship.
Now, as Archie and Laura have stepped into leadership roles at Tillett, they are able to guide the business forward whilst honouring its rich history that has become synonymous with the Tillett name.
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Tillett Racing Seats look, feel and perform differently from any other seat on the market today. This is thanks to a unique (and closely guarded) manufacturing system which is part craftsmanship, part technical know-how and part materials technology.
From research and design to prototype testing and manufacture by hand - every step of our process is rooted in no-compromise quality.
Get in touch with us via our online contact form or by giving us a ring at 01795 420312.
