Performance figures

For more than 30 years Mr Walkinshaw, 60, has lived and worked in Oxfordshire, and his name will be familiar to many in motorsport circles.

Many others will also have bitter recollections after his Arrows Formula One team went into liquidation at Leafield, taking down what had been a profitable motorsport business, TWR, with it.

The repercussions were felt throughout the industry but he refuses to be drawn on past events, preferring instead to focus on the future.

His latest business, Walkinshaw Performance, is in itself a reflection of how he sees the industry has changed.

With just ten staff, it is in fact the small UK arm of a global business which has bases in India, Dubai and Australia, employing 1,000 people.

He explained: "I wanted a small technology base in the UK to keep in touch with advanced engineering with the volume side being carried out overseas.

"You have got to go global to get the best out of engineering - it is now a necessity, not a choice.

"The industry has changed - the writing has been on the wall for a long time. A place like India is producing engineering graduates every year with the same qualifications and they speak English, but only companies like Tata are taking them on.

"So we will just keep growing, keeping the advanced engineering here and servicing the product with the overseas engineering resources that we have."

Walkinshaw Performance has been running 18 months and started with a contract building cars for Mitsubishi's Group A rally team.

While that has come to an end, the relationship with Mitsubishi remains strong with the company providing suspension and exhaust upgrades for the L200 truck range, which is then offered to customers through standard dealers.

About 25 of the upgraded vehicles have been built so far, and it is hoped to step up production further this year.

General manager Ken Page explained: "It is for people who want to explore their vehicles a little more with better performance and handling."

The company also provides after-market support for the high performance Vauxhall VXR8 and its General Motors Australian cousin the HSV, which stands for Holden Special Vehicles.

Holden Special Vehicles is, according to Mr Walkinshaw, like adding AMG to the Mercedes brand and he owns the division, despite it being built on GM's Holden line.

As well as the extra performance and features, it also adds a certain cache which enthusiasts will happily dig deep for - about £35,000 - which, in supercar terms, is cheap.

The most recent additions to the Walkinshaw Performance stable come from Elfin, another Australian company which Mr Walkinshaw bought at the end of 2006, and takes the shape of two models, the Clubman and the Streamliner, both powered by Holden V8 engines.

Priced at up to £50,000 these cars don't come cheap but are aimed at the market occupied by niche manufacturers such as TVR and Marcos.

Walkinshaw Performance is based on a farm managed by Mr Walkinshaw and he lives just across the fields from the buildings which used to be cowsheds.

He appreciates the surroundings, not just aesthetically, but for the practicality they lend his business.

"It is a beautiful county and logistically it is ideally located."

Customers not only use the easy road links but can also come in from nearby Charlbury railway station.

In this high octane world, you would expect there to be little talk of the environmental impact.

But as a farmer, and someone who appreciates the rural life, Mr Walkinshaw has strong views and is keen to defend his industry.

He added: "The environment is very important but we need to take a broad view of it, if we are to be really serious about it.

"Hitting the motor car all the time is not the way to tackle it - the motor industry is an easy target.

"If the emerging nations and the US don't clean up their act, how is the rest of the world going to have any impact?"