The countryside village of Chorleywood in the United Kingdom might seem like an unlikely setting for a supercar, with its tree-lined streets and meandering streams. Imagine then the contrasting visual of a Ferrari LaFerrari, the latest in a long line of supercars from the eponymous Italian carmaker, as it roars past the duck pond.

For the villagers it’s not such an unusual sight: DK Engineering, the oldest surviving Ferrari specialist in the country, has operated out of a converted-for-purpose farm on the outskirts for a decade. Thankfully for the local wildlife, it’s well out of earshot.

“We bought the farm in 2007 and spent nine months redeveloping it,” explains second-generation James Cottingham, who spearheaded the project during his final year at the University of Bristol, where he studied mechanical engineering.

“The idea was to match the site to the needs of the business. That meant we needed a proper showroom, more office space, and a site that had moved on from the industrial units of the 1980s and 1990s. We restored the buildings to the highest standard in order to reflect what we do with the cars.” 

While it is hard to imagine DK Engineering before the move to Chorleywood, the business was once based in the London borough of Northwood. Founded in 1977 by David and Kate Cottingham, the husband and wife team that lend their initials to the company name, and who continue to head the business today.

David says the true origin of the business can be traced all the way back to 1950, when at seven years old, he fell in love with the XK 120 model of Jaguar, and later, following the death of his father, a cycling club that fostered a desire for racing. It was a pre-war BMW a lodger had been working on, however, who gave him his first taste of engineering.

Over the years, David developed his hobby for car repair and racing into a fully-fledged business, at first in order to fund his passion for racing. In the early years he juggled the business at the same time holding down a senior position at American photography company Kodak.