Classic & Sports Car – The specialist: Custom ChromeNigel and Graham Swift established the company Custom Chrome 47 years ago.Catering for all ages of classic cars, commercial vehicles and motorcycles, their bespoke exhaust systems have won them a global audience, thanks in part to Custom Chrome being home to the red-coloured Cherry Bomb performance exhaust, which the brothers manufacture at their Nuneaton site in Warwickshire, in the UK."I originally ordered a Cherry Bomb from America, but it never arrived," Nigel remembers.AdvertisementAdvertisement"Keith Ripp from Ripspeed offered me one and asked if I could copy it, which I did."We then found Cherry Bomb wasn't trademarked in the UK, so we had it patented here and then later across Europe. That was more than 40 years ago; we've been developing, manufacturing and selling them ever since."Classic & Sports Car – The specialist: Custom ChromeOff-the-shelf and made-to-order Cherry Bomb performance exhausts comprise much of Custom Chrome's business, and is something the team is well known for, but there is more to the firm.The company also designs and fits bespoke stainless-steel silencers, which replicate the richer tonal quality of a mild-steel system and eradicate the tinniness normally associated with stainless-steel exhausts.AdvertisementAdvertisement(Having had Custom Chrome fit such a system to my Fiat 128, I can verify that claim.)The silencers feature an 'echo-revolve-echo-revolve' chamber that Nigel likens to an "alluvial fan", in which the exhaust gases fan out from the confines of the pipe.Classic & Sports Car – The specialist: Custom ChromeThe silencer – which is manufactured in China by a long-standing partner – has a wadding retainer to improve longevity and, along with the pipe, is made from 304-grade stainless steel, the quality of which is high enough for this specialist to offer a lifetime guarantee.Nigel claims the steel is superior to the lower-grade stainless often used by new-car manufacturers, which is generally only designed to last the term of the vehicle's warranty.AdvertisementAdvertisementCustom Chrome can still build you a mild-steel system, but the cost is only around 20% less than stainless, with most customers now opting for the latter.Classic & Sports Car – The specialist: Custom ChromeWith three tube-bending machines on site and nearly half a century's worth of templates to work from, Nigel says Custom Chrome is more focused than ever on creating bespoke solutions for customers.The brothers often work with clubs, who request low production runs of components, and build jigs to produce systems for popular classics such as 1950s Austins and sidevalve Fords.Building exhausts from scratch for rare machinery is another speciality.AdvertisementAdvertisementRecent work from historic racing car restorer Hall & Hall required a system for a 1930s Alfa Romeo, while a Frazer Nash 'Chain Gang' and Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster have also visited Custom Chrome in the past few months.Classic & Sports Car – The specialist: Custom ChromeNothing, however, compared with an order from the makers of a film franchise in 1999."We were approached by Elstree Studios," Nigel recounts. "They had been rehearsing a boat chase on the Thames for the Bond film The World is Not Enough, but the jet boats they were using were drawing complaints from the Houses of Parliament."It was going to cost £1m a day to stop filming, so they asked us to make 20 Cherry Bomb systems to reduce the noise, which we did – overnight.AdvertisementAdvertisement"Someone turned up with a suitcase full of money the next day."The team is nothing if not adaptable and, clearly, very talented, too.Classic & Sports Car – The specialist: Custom ChromeCustom Chrome has survived so long by changing and rescaling where necessary, according to the needs of the business and the wider industry. Back in the 1980s, when it was a major supplier of Cherry Bombs to Ripspeed, the brothers employed 23 staff.And, while the mail-order Cherry Bomb business is today still buoyant, the company's work is now more centred on the bespoke exhaust market, which requires a far smaller headcount. With retirement looming, Nigel tells us, the brothers' plan is to find a buyer for Custom Chrome and the Cherry Bomb brand this year (2026).AdvertisementAdvertisementLet's hope their impressive legacy will continue.Images: Jack HarrisonThe knowledgeName Custom Chrome LtdAddress Lomond House, Weddington Terrace, Nuneaton, CV10 0AG, UKStaff FiveSpecialism Bespoke exhaust systemsPrices Vary according to job (mild-steel Cherry Bomb c£180)Tel +44 (0)2476 387808Web custom-chrome.co.ukWe hope you enjoyed reading. Please click the 'Follow' button for more super stories from Classic & Sports Car.