Looking at treating your example bearing Henry Ford’s blue oval to some tuning and performance upgrades? Well before you do so, check out what the team at Isaac Performance Vehicles (IPV) in Taupo have to offer. As far as performance outlets for Ford products go, they’re one of the best. We sat down for a chat with IPV’s Paul Isaac to find out about what the company is all about.
The Motorhood: How have you and Isaac Performance Vehicles been involved with the Ford brand?
Paul Isaac: Originally, we were a Ford dealer for 25 years. In 1999 we set up IPV, then we shifted that business to Taupo in 2006 when we sold our Ford dealership. I had prior experience with that, doing add-on performance enhancements to Ford vehicles. Overall, our Ford experience goes back some 35-odd years from our Ford dealership days through to now with our IPV business.
Why did Isaac Performance Vehicles choose to shift their business to Taupo Motorsport Park?
We wanted to build a new dedicated Ford Performance Vehicles shop. With Taupo Motorsport Park building their new racetrack complex and business park in 2006, it was an ideal opportunity for us to set up our new shop. We would have the racetrack available for our testing and development when required, and our customers could also partake in test days or driver training. On top of that, Taupo was a more central location in the North Island for our business, compared to where we were originally located in Taumarunui.
What vehicles did you specialize in when you first shifted to Taupo nine years ago, and has this evolved since you made the move?
Definitely. We specialized in the entire Falcon range and Tickford range back in those days. And then as Ford moved out of Tickford into Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV), we just carried on developing our range of enhancements and expanding through that range to cover the entire Ford Falcon and FPV range. During this period we continued expanding into the Mustang range as well, plus F150 and F250 trucks. We’re now expanding into the Ford Ranger and Mazda BT-50 turbo-diesel vehicles, with performance upgrades, exhaust systems, air filters, and accessories.
What facilities and tools do Isaac Performance Vehicles offer its clients?
We’ve built a dedicated performance shop, with a two-wheel drive Dynopack dyno and a full state-of-the-art in-house dyno cell. There’s also a full service department with all the service equipment and specialty tools required, a parts department, showroom, customer lounge, and offices — we’re a complete dedicated business geared up for what we do.
Tell me more about Isaac Performance Vehicle’s involvement in Kiwi motorsport?
Well, we’ve been involved with the UDC V8 Ute series from day one as a joint owner in a Ford Falcon BF race ute, not to mention the support IPV offered with technical development and tuning for the race utes. We also supplied, and continue to supply, a lot of the control race parts. I was appointed to the board as a director of the V8 Utes about two years after the series started in 2008, and I also now run the company as managing director, plus oversee all the technical and control supplier side of the whole series. So through the V8 Ute series we’ve been really involved with motorsport.
The new 2015 Ford Mustang is about to be released in New Zealand through the domestic Ford-dealer network. Considering the hype surrounding the Mustang, will it be added to your Isaac Performance Vehicles’ range of cars you specialize in?
Yes definitely. We’ve been performance enhancing, modifying, tuning, and servicing Mustangs for a very long time — and it’s just a natural progression through to the new-model Mustangs.
When the Coyote Mustang came out originally, we did all the research, training, and our tune development for them, and we’re still working on those vehicles currently. So we’re all geared up for the new models when they arrive. We’ve got a range of performance upgrades and packages that will be available, as well as parts, accessories, and tuning programs. So, we’ll definitely be all set for when they arrive. And all of this will be available to the Ford-dealer network, as well as to our customers.
Thanks for your time, Paul. We look forward to seeing more impressive Fords roll out of Isaac Performance Vehicles! For more info on IPV, you can check out their website, contact them at 07 377 2081 or sales@ipv.co.nz, or simply drop into their comprehensive premises at Taupo Motorsport Park on Broadlands Road.