My name is Andy Roberts and I’m the inspiration behind Optimise Automotive, by trade I am an automotive designer and in life, a passionate petrol head. Since the foundation of Optimise in 2008 I have assembled a small team of highly skilled individuals and as a collective we create masterpieces of automotive interior excellence each & every day.

From an very early age I was always fascinated by design and in particular, working out how things work. This progressed throughout my teenage years and when combined with my love for everything automotive, by the time I was 16, I had set my sights on becoming a car designer.

After leaving school, with this dream in mind, I completed a national diploma in art and design at Newcastle-under-Lyme college, gaining a distinction. It was whilst at college that I passed my driving test and bought my first car, a 1996 Rover Mini Equinox (a car that I still own today).

I soon became a regular at Stoke-on-Trent's Festival Park, the local 'boy racer' hang out and it was during this stage of my life that I fell in love with modded cars. I quickly discovered that by modifying my own Mini, I could practice my passion for functional design in the real world.

In September 2004 I left home for Coventry University's famous Automotive Design course. And, it was actually the summer of 2005, when I was home from University after my first year, that the Optimise Automotive journey began.

After posting photos on The Mini Forum (where I have been a member since April 2004) of a new boot lining kit that I had made a fellow club member said "that looks great, can you make me one?" to which I kindly obliged. Over the next few weeks I sold a hand full of boot lining kits to other TMF members and that got me thinking "If a few on TMF want one, I wonder if others will?”.

It’s fair to say I haven’t looked back since and after graduating from University in June 2008, I couldn’t wait to get stuck into transforming my part time summer venture into a full time business.

The rest (as they say), is history. Fast forward to today and we are now a World renowned name in Classic Mini interiors and more recently we have started our journey into the wonderful World of VW Transporter interiors.

So far this incredible journey has taken me & my team to many new places, introduced us to amazing new people and pushed us to create quality interiors all day, everyday. My passion for functional design is what makes Optimise Automotive stand out from the crowd and my enthusiasm for everything automotive is reflected in everything that we do - as a petrol head myself I ensure that each and every project is completed as if it was for my own vehicle.

We love what we do.

If you’re thinking about restoring and/or replacing the interior of your Classic Mini or VW Transporter please get in touch for a chat.