Motordrive Seats Explained: Ranges, Sizes And Seat Life
Brand guide, photographed in our showroom
Motordrive get asked the same questions over and over, and so do we. Which range, which size, what the shell is made of, and the one that worries people most, how long the seat is legal for. This page answers all of it with the seats we actually have on the floor, the sizes they come in and what they cost, instead of sending you off to ask somebody.
Motordrive build their seats in Leyland, in Lancashire, which makes them one of the few FIA seats you can buy that were made in this country. Garreth and Cameron stock the range and every photograph on this page is one of ours, taken on our own showroom floor.
- Motordrive build in Leyland, Lancashire, so these are British made FIA seats
- Two decisions do most of the work: Pro or Race for head protection, then Standard, Large or XL for size
- Everything we stock is a GRP shell homologated to FIA 8855-1999, from £474.00
- A Pro shell takes a bolt-on head support, so you can start at Pro and add it later
- An 8855-1999 seat is valid to the date on its own label, and the standard itself is not being withdrawn
Pro or Race: the decision that matters first
Motordrive split their seats into ranges, and the one that changes the shape of the shell is Pro against Race. A Pro is the conventional bucket: high sides, harness slots, and an open top. A Race shell brings the sides forward past your ears, so the head protection is built into the moulding and not an extra bolted on. Their Endurance range takes that further again for long distance work.
That is the whole difference in a sentence, and it is worth sitting in both before you decide, because a wrapped shell feels very different from an open one when you turn your head to look at an apex.
On top of Pro and Race, Motordrive add a Classic version of each. Classic brings their Advanced Padding System and a choice of base cushion height, Standard or Low Profile, at no difference in price between the two heights. Low Profile is the one to ask about if you are tall, or if the car is small and you have already lost the argument with the roof.
So the ladder we stock runs Club Pro, Club Race, Pro Classic, Race Classic, and then the Pro with a head support fitted from new.
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From £474.00 Incl. VATPayPal CreditKlarna ReadyNew for 2026Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
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From £594.00 Incl. VATPayPal CreditKlarna ReadyNew for 2026Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
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From £594.00 Incl. VATPayPal CreditKlarna ReadyNew for 2026Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
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From £714.00 Incl. VATPayPal CreditKlarna ReadyNew for 2026Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
The head support, and why a Pro can become most of a Race
This is the part people miss. A Motordrive Pro shell is built to take a bolt-on head support, so you are not locked out of head protection by buying the cheaper shell. You can start with a Pro and add the support when the championship or the co-driver asks for it.
We also list the Pro with the head support already fitted at £1,068.00 in all three sizes, which is the easier order if you already know you want it. Tell us which way you are leaning and Cameron will tell you honestly whether it is worth doing in one go.
One thing to be aware of before you choose on price alone: a Race shell and a Pro shell with a support added are not the same object. On the Race the protection is part of the moulding. On the Pro it is a separate part bolted to it. Both are sold to the same FIA standard, and which suits you is about the car, your height and how much you want the shell wrapped around your head.
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From £1,068.00 Incl. VATPayPal CreditKlarna ReadyNew for 2026Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
Standard, Large or XL
Motordrive size their shells instead of expecting one to suit everybody, which is the right way round and the reason we keep all three on the floor. The hero photograph at the top of this page is three Club Pro shells lined up, and the difference is obvious once they are next to each other.
The honest guidance is short. Standard suits most drivers. Large gives you room across the hips and shoulders without moving you up in the car. XL is for genuinely broad competitors and is offered on the Classic seats. A seat that is too big is as wrong as one that is too small, because the shell only does its job if it is holding you.
Two practical notes. The Club Pro and Club Race are listed in Standard and Large, and the XL sizes sit on the Pro Classic and Race Classic. And if you are ordering two seats, we list them as pairs as well as singles, which is purely to save you adding the same thing twice.
| Seat | Head protection | Sizes we list | From, inc VAT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Club Pro | Open shell, takes a bolt-on support | Standard, Large | £474.00 |
| Club Race | Built into the shell | Standard, Large | £594.00 |
| Pro Classic | Open shell, plus APS padding and a cushion height choice | Standard, Large, XL | £594.00 |
| Race Classic | Built into the shell, plus APS padding and a cushion height choice | Standard, Large, XL | £714.00 |
| Pro with Head Support | Support fitted from new | Standard, Large, XL | £1,068.00 |
Prices include VAT and show the Standard size unless the row says otherwise, checked 4 September 2026. Every seat here is a GRP shell to FIA 8855-1999.
GRP, Kevlar or carbon
Motordrive build shells in three materials and the differences are real. GRP, which is glass fibre, is the most popular and the least expensive, and it is what every Motordrive seat we stock uses. Kevlar is lighter and stiffer than glass and carries the yellow and black weave that historic competitors tend to want on show. Carbon is the lightest and stiffest of the three, and the dearest by some distance.
For most club competitors the honest answer is that GRP is the right buy, and the money is better spent on the fit of the seat than the material of the shell. If you are chasing weight, or you want the Kevlar weave for a period car, that is a special order and a conversation on the phone.
How long is an FIA seat actually good for
This causes more worry than anything else, so here is the plain version. An FIA 8855-1999 seat carries a label with a “not valid after” date, and that date is what counts. It is the year the seat was made plus five, so a seat built in 2024 runs to the end of 2029.
The rumour that 8855-1999 itself dies at the end of 2026 is not right, and it comes from people reading their own seat label and assuming it applies to everyone. The FIA have said the standard will not be withdrawn. We went through the primary sources properly and wrote it up in our FIA 8855-1999 seat dates guide, which is the page to read if the date on your label is making you nervous.
Where Motordrive do something unusual: they offer a chargeable re-certification on their own 8855-1999 seats, where the seat goes back to them, is inspected and comes back with a further label worth up to two more years. That is their service and their process, so ask them or ask us to ask them, and if you compete in rallying, read your own current regulations on dating rather than taking any manufacturer page as the last word.
Mounting and custom fitting
A bucket seat is only as good as what it is bolted to. Motordrive specify a minimum of 6mm aluminium or 4mm steel for the mounting, which is a useful number to have before somebody offers to fabricate you something thinner. Side mounts, a car specific frame, or both, and we can spec that with the seat so it arrives as one order.
Motordrive also offer a custom fitting service at their own premises, where they pick the shell size and then pad around you individually, including the harness slot alignment. That is theirs and not ours, and for a driver who is hard to fit it is worth the trip. For most people, sitting in all three sizes on our floor settles it in ten minutes.
Made in Leyland
Motordrive design and build in Lancashire, and they sit on the FIA and Motorsport UK working groups for seats, which is a reasonable sign that the people making the thing understand the standard it is tested to.
For us the practical upshot is lead times and questions. A seat that is made in this country is quicker to get answers about, and if you want something the standard range does not cover, there is somebody to ask. We have written up the range as it arrived: the first delivery, the Club Pro and Pro Classic, the Club Race and Race Classic, and the Pro with head support.
Common questions
Which Motordrive seat should I buy?
If you want head protection built into the shell, a Race. If you want the lower price and the option to add a support later, a Pro. Then pick the size, and take the Classic version if you want the Advanced Padding System and the choice of cushion height.
Do you have all three sizes to sit in?
Yes, that is the point of keeping them. Standard, Large and XL are on the showroom floor in Nottingham, and ten minutes with all three tells you more than any size chart.
Can I add a head support to a Pro later?
The Pro shell is built to take a bolt-on support, so yes. We also list the Pro with the support already fitted if you would rather buy it once.
My seat label says not valid after 2027. Is it scrap then?
It is out of date for competition after that date, and the label is what counts, not the standard. Motordrive offer a chargeable re-certification on their own seats that can add up to two more years. Our FIA dates guide linked above explains the labelling.
Can I get one in Kevlar or carbon?
Motordrive build in all three materials. Everything we hold is GRP, so a Kevlar or carbon shell is a special order. Ring us with what you are trying to achieve and we will find out the lead time before you commit.
What do I need to bolt it in?
Side mounts and usually a car specific frame. Motordrive specify at least 6mm aluminium or 4mm steel for the mounting. Tell us the car and we will quote the seat and the mounting together.
Those three settle the range and the size between them, and if you can get to Nottingham you can sit in all of it before you spend anything. Ring Garreth and Cameron on 0115 9893488.