The specialist: The Action Factory

By Ryan Standen

| 18 Jul 2025

Classic & Sports Car – The specialist: The Action Factory

Graham Kelly has been in the movie-car industry for more than three decades.

During that time, he has worked on blockbusters including the 2008 James Bond outing Quantum of Solace, the 2004 Thunderbirds, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008).

He’s handy behind the wheel, too: in 2005, he won a Taurus World Stunt Award for his driving in The Bourne Supremacy.

Graham’s company, The Action Factory, has built, modified and supplied thousands of vehicles for some of the 21st century’s biggest hits.

The Action Factory team helped to create the cars for the new F1 film

Many projects are still under wraps, but the Messerschmitt KR200 parked next to Brad Pitt’s APX GP single-seater from the F1 film give an idea of the kind of varied work this busy crew gets up to.

Following a stint as a race engineer with a World Sportscar Championship team that campaigned Ferraris, Graham joined Action Cars London Ltd in the 1980s.

“The company was born out of the demise of a firm called Kingsbury Motors, which was one of the first suppliers of vehicles for television and film,” he says.

A Ferrari 308GTB is stripped before being turned into a 288GTO for a forthcoming film

When Graham went solo in the late ’80s, he hit the ground running.

“Highlander was one of my first films,” he says. “I drove a Porsche 356A Speedster for a scene in an underground car park in White City, London.”

At the same time, he was looking after the Inspector Morse Jaguar Mk2 and providing vehicles for The Bill.

A subframe extension adds length to the Ferrari 308GTB’s chassis

The industry has changed a lot since then, he says: “We’re doing bigger and better things. After Ronin, car chases got more visceral.”

Graham cites the 1998 thriller as a turning point in modern-day chase scenes.

“Directors want to put the actors in the shots, so we design rigs for them to do that,” he adds.

The Action Factory fabricates roof-mounted cages from where a stunt driver controls a car while an actor is filmed at the wheel.

These Ferrari 288GTO replicas have Chevrolet V8 power, not the twin-turbocharged motor of the original

“Audiences are sophisticated enough to know what is CGI and what’s not,” Graham says.

“I don’t get involved in things such as Fast & Furious because a lot of it is CGI, and you don’t really get to play with real toys.

“There’s a place for it, but it’s not what I do.”

For many years, The Action Factory operated out of 10 shipping containers that could be transported to various studios and live shoot locations across the world, but six years ago Graham set up a new, permanent base for his business.

The Action Factory employs up to 40 staff, but many will be on set while films are in production

In one workshop, engineers are turning disassembled Ferrari 308GTBs and Porsche 993s into 288GTO and 959 replicas for an upcoming release.

“The 288GTO is about four inches longer than the 308GTB, so we’re cutting the original chassis and building a new subframe to carry the suspension,” explains Graham.

Other upgrades include better brakes, a rollcage, a Porsche transaxle and a switch to Chevrolet power.

“I use LS V8s for everything,” he says, “they’re absolutely bulletproof.”

A room of 3D printers allows The Action Factory team to make new components quickly

Upstairs, a room is filled with about 10 3D printers.

Here, small batches of components can be produced, such as a dummy Ferrari transaxle casing to disguise the Porsche component used on the 288GTO replica.

The Action Factory is also doing more and more EV conversions, too.

“The instant power gives you more control and you’re not looking for a gear all the time,” Graham explains.

The APX GP F1 car of the fictional driver Sonny Hayes, played by Brad Pitt in 2025’s F1 film

A corner of one unit is dedicated to the APX GP racing cars that star in F1.

The Action Factory built six stunt cars (with bodywork designed by the Mercedes-AMG F1 team) and a further 10 ‘crash cars’ that were destroyed on purpose.

Another side of The Action Factory’s business is in supplying cars for film sets.

If you fancy seeing your own classic starring on the silver screen, you can register your vehicle with the firm’s online database.

Images: Jack Harrison