Tillett Seats

Steve Tillett started in karting in 1978. The arrival of new sticky tyres gave him and others many problems with bruised ribs, caused mainly by badly fitting seats.

A vintage, veteran car upholsterer by trade, Steve's father Alec covered the first ever "Tillett Seat" by sticking a fabric used for motor vehicle floor mats on to the seat. It seemed to work really well, not only holding the driver secure but also stopping the continual sliding around. By taking the hard edge off the hard fibreglass shell, it made the karts aggressive cornering speeds less damaging to the body - and so it started.

Tillett Racing Seats has now grown from a one man operation in a garage, to a company comprising of five factory units totaling 11,000 square feet with a current workforce of 20. There is now a Tillett dealer in most karting countries throughout the world and the product has the distinction that all covered kart seats, even the copies, are called a "Tillett", in the same fashion as a Stanley knife, Hoover and Philips screwdriver. Almost every single kart seat being sold today has it's origins in a Tillett shape.