NEW SPEED™ ORIGINAL, SPEEDMAKERS, GOES BEHIND THE SCENES OF NEWS-MAKING PROJECTS & ADVANCED OPERATIONS

EPISODES INCLUDE UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE on BUILDING TESLA & CHEVROLET VOLT ELECTRIC VEHICLES; CREWS RE-PAVING DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

SERIES PREMIERES FEB. 24 at 9 P.M. ET/6 P.M. PT

            Get the first look at how Chevrolet builds its revolutionary new Volt electric hybrid vehicle and watch as crews scramble to re-pave the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway. New SPEED original series, Speedmakers (premieres Feb. 24 at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT), from the producers of popular television series, Ultimate Factories, takes the audience into the inner-workings of how the world’s most advanced operations concentrate on the art of building speed.

            Highlighting the 10-episode series, Speedmakers has cameras getting behind the scenes of some of the nation’s more significant projects; starting with the recent re-paving of Daytona International Speedway outlining the plans, designs, pitfalls and how the re-surfacing process of NASCAR’s original high-bank superspeedway played out. In another episode, the show focuses on the electric car, including the building of the Tesla and GM’s new Volt; both on the cutting edge of automotive technology, but pieced together in very different fashions.

            “Hoff Productions was granted full access to chronicle the ultra-sophisticated engineering and manufacturing processes necessary to pull off these highly ambitious projects,” said Robert Ecker, SPEED VP of Programming and Executive Producer. “The result provides a window into how top-level research and development combines with meticulous design and ingenious execution, all in the name of maximizing speed and performance.”

            In the premiere episode, Speedmakers cameras travel to the UK to examine the state-of-the-art processes used in constructing Jaguar’s long-standing XK line of sports cars, with the second episode highlighting the legendary Aston Martin building process. Future episodes include building an NHRA Top Fuel dragster; the stealth armament of passenger vehicles; and a visit to the factory where Kenworth’s brand new T700 semi is built from the ground up.

            “Despite the amazing high-tech modern robotics and automation systems, what’s most impressive here is the pride in craftsmanship that the men and women working on these assembly lines continue to feel for the products they build,” Ecker continued. “This connection transcends the physical mechanics of the process and really comes through in the series.”