Car Throttle

What Car Throttle does

Car Throttle, legally Crash Media Group Ltd, is a privately held UK digital media company founded in 2009 and headquartered in London. It operates carthrottle.com, an advertising-supported content platform publishing automotive news, car reviews, features, motorsport coverage (including Formula 1), video content, gaming stories, and workshop/DIY guides. The site is free to consumers and monetized through display advertising and sponsored content, with a visible recurring partnership with Machine Mart (Clarke tools) underwriting the workshop vertical.

The platform is built on a standard web content management system supporting RSS feeds, video embedding, newsletter subscription, and user account functionality, with no proprietary technology stack or native mobile applications. Distribution is multi-channel: beyond the website, Car Throttle maintains active accounts on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter/X, and Facebook, and uses email/newsletter as a mid-funnel retention channel. The site is structured around manufacturer pages (covering roughly 35 brands) and topic verticals (American Cars, Japanese, Retro and Classics, Supercars, Off-roading, etc.) that support both SEO breadth and category-level sponsorship inventory.

The business model is content-led growth targeting car enthusiasts as the primary persona, with secondary segments in home mechanics, motorsport fans, and gaming enthusiasts. Editorial is produced by a small core team (Editor Ryan Hirons, plus staff and freelance writers) supplemented by named freelancers drawn from legacy motoring titles such as evo and Top Gear. The company has raised approximately $2.15M across two disclosed rounds (2013 from Passion Capital; 2015 led by redalpine), acquired WTF1 in 2017 to strengthen its motorsport presence, and shows no subsequent external capital or material ownership changes in the available data.

Name

Car Throttle

Legal name

Crash Media Group Ltd

Website

https://carthrottle.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Car Throttle is a UK-based digital automotive media platform (Crash Media Group Ltd, founded 2009) publishing free news, reviews, features, motorsport, gaming, and workshop content for car enthusiasts, monetized via display advertising and sponsored brand partnerships across web and social.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Automotive Digital Media

akta.pro primary industry

Motorsports Media Rights & Broadcasting (Series-Owned/Controlled) (MPAKAGAF)

Keywords

• Automotive digital media
• Car culture content
• Motorsport journalism
• Automotive editorial publishing
• Driving games coverage

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Advertising: Standard web advertising model with display ads and sponsored content placements throughout the site. The site displays 'ADVERTISEMENT' labels for sponsored content sections.
2. Sponsored Content: Featured sponsored articles and video content from partners, particularly tool manufacturers like Clarke/Machine Mart. Articles labeled as 'Sponsored' feature specific products with links to purchase.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Car Throttle is a digital automotive media platform that publishes original editorial content covering car news, reviews, features, videos, motorsport (Formula 1), gaming, and workshop/DIY content for car enthusiasts. All content is freely accessible via carthrottle.com and distributed through YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter/X, and Facebook. The business monetizes this audience through display advertising and sponsored content partnerships with automotive and tool brands.

Product overview

CarThrottle.com is a motoring/media website dedicated to car and car culture content. The site publishes original editorial content including news articles, reviews, features, and videos covering automotive topics ranging from new car releases and motorsport to gaming and workshop/garage tools. Content is organized into sections including News, Formula 1, Gaming, Reviews, Features, Videos, and Workshop. The website is owned by Crash Media Group Ltd and operates from London, UK.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Car Throttle Website (carthrottle.com) The flagship digital automotive media platform publishing news, reviews, features, Formula 1, gaming, videos, and workshop content for car enthusiasts worldwide.
• Sponsored Editorial and Display Advertising Advertising inventory and sponsored content placements on carthrottle.com and across Car Throttle's social channels, sold to automotive and tool brands seeking reach into the platform's car enthusiast audience. Evidence includes Clarke tool sponsored articles and videos featuring 'Sponsored By' labels and purchase links.
• Car Throttle Email Newsletter Free email newsletter subscription delivering the latest car news, reviews, features, and promotional content to car enthusiasts directly in their inbox.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Machine MartminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMachine Mart is the sponsor of Clarke tool product content on Car Throttle. Clarke tools products are featured in workshop articles and videos with 'Sponsored By' labeling. Articles include links to purchase products on machinemart.co.uk, indicating an affiliate/sponsorship relationship for workshop and tool content.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Motor1: Global digital automotive publisher producing news, reviews, features, and video content. Closely comparable digital-first, ad-supported editorial model with a broader geographic footprint.
• evo: Performance-car enthusiast magazine and website with deep reviews, video, and motorsport coverage. Shares Car Throttle's enthusiast positioning and contributor pool (Stephen Dobie previously on evo editorial).
• DriveTribe: Automotive content and community platform co-founded by Jeremy Clarkson. Closest analog to Car Throttle as a digitally native, enthusiast-focused car media community with user-generated and editorial content.
• Jalopnik: US-based digital automotive publisher covering news, reviews, opinion, and motorsport. Operates the same digitally native, ad-supported editorial playbook targeting car enthusiasts and gearheads.
• Petrolicious: Premium automotive content brand focused on classic and enthusiast cars through long-form video and editorial. Comparable premium-content positioning in the enthusiast automotive media niche.

Broad incumbents

• Auto Trader: UK's leading automotive marketplace with a significant editorial content arm covering reviews, news, and features. Competes for both audience and advertising spend in the same UK car-enthusiast segment.
• Carwow: UK-based car content and buying platform combining reviews, video, and a transactional marketplace. Overlaps with Car Throttle on automotive editorial and video while extending into commerce.
• Top Gear: Iconic global automotive media brand spanning editorial, video, and television. Direct competitor for audience attention in car reviews, motorsport coverage, and feature storytelling, with vastly greater scale.
• Hagerty Media: Automotive media and classic car marketplace with a strong content division (Hagerty Drivers Club, Bull Market lists). Overlaps on enthusiast editorial, classic car features, and motorsport coverage.

Emerging players

• Caffeine&Machine: UK automotive lifestyle brand combining hospitality venues with editorial and events. Comparable enthusiast audience targeting and contributor overlap (Phill Tromans previously wrote for C&M).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/carthrottle
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/carthrottle
• Facebookfacebook.com/carthrottle
• Instagraminstagram.com/carthrottle
• TikToktiktok.com/@carthrottle_official

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Car Throttle