Established in 2008 by father and son team John and Chris Lansbury, PIE Performance Porsche began life as a conventional Porsche parts dealer. Since then, the business has morphed into something more. We talked to Chris Lansbury to discover their backstory and future plans.

Those of you who regularly read these pieces will have spotted certain denominators that underpin every story. Number one is a business plan. So, what can readers learn from the success of PIE Performance? Not much, it seems.

“There was never a plan to form a Porsche business. I didn’t, one day, wake up and think – I know, let’s start a business. It really happened organically.” That wasn’t an obstacle, and Chris feels that’s not a bad thing. “Businesses that are strong in their arena generally happen that way. It hasn’t happened completely by mistake but there’s been no masterplan.”

PIE Chart.

Having evolved and progressed from a parts business to a genuine Porsche specialist offering bespoke full-system packages, PIE are welcoming new customers, similarly disaffected by a patchy (as they see it) customer service network who find a sympathetic ear – and a crew of dedicated, specialist – Porshe technicians on hand to help.

“In our experience, the marketplace has – in general – rarely provided a satisfactory level of customer service.”

Chris has spotted a few trends among his clientele, chiefly the services they’re looking for from PIE. “We see a lot more projects on the air-cooled side, longer-term stuff. I think the difference between ourselves, and other independent workshops is that we try and push barriers with our work.

“We make our own ignition systems with the help of Design 911; we sell our own exhaust and mapping systems. We’re always pushing the boundaries of performance and creating improvements while staying true to our roots. Just making the cars better.

Example?

“The 3.8 litre Porsche 964 Convertible behind us. It’s been fitted with a new ignition system, a modern, updated suspension to give the car a nicer feel when driving. It has 993 Turbo brakes – just a whole heap of modifications that make the car better.

But what you’ll notice is that it just looks like a ‘stock’ Porsche. That’s the kind of thing we like to do – create a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

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