Akrapovič celebrates 25 years of exhaust technology and innovation

Akrapovič, the Slovenian exhaust specialist which was founded in 1991 by Igor Akrapovič, is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.

To kick off the celebrations, Akrapovič has prepared a special logo to mark the occasion, featuring an interlocked ‘25’ in the shape of a racetrack, with a chicane design element to honour one of the most important areas of the firm’s history: the highly emotive and exciting world of racing.   

Akrapovič’s first major milestone came in 1993, with entry into international competition in the Pro Superbike and later WSBK championship, leading to a partnership with Kawasaki Deutschland after the Akrapovič system outperformed the factory version. Continued expansion in high-level racing led to the company achieving its first victory on the world stage in 1997, when Japanese factory rider Akira Yanagawa won a WSBK race on a Kawasaki. On the retail side, Akrapovič designed and offered customers full titanium exhaust systems for Kawasaki and Yamaha sport bikes in 1997 – a product that has grown and become more innovative and widely available to a diverse range of motorcycles.

In 1999, the company moved to bigger premises with the opening of a new 3,000 square metre production plant. That year also marked a racing first, when every single Japanese team in the Superbike World Championship used Akrapovič systems.

The company hit new heights on the racing scene in 2000, winning its first world championship, when the WSBK title was taken by Colin Edwards riding a Honda. This was followed by the company’s entry into MotoGP in 2002 and cooperation with factory teams at the highest level of motorcycle racing. Further modernisation of the company continued, with production upgrades and improved workforce education, all leading to an enhanced development process.

In 2005 Akrapovič introduced the first hexagonal exhaust system in the motorcycle aftermarket. It then followed up its two-wheeled success by achieving its first victory in a 24-hour car race, with Manthey-Racing Team taking victory at the prestigious Nürburgring 24-hour event in 2008.

As the first decade of the 21st century drew to a close, Akrapovič continued to expand, and 2009 saw the opening of a new state-of-the-art titanium foundry in a large purpose-built extension of the factory at Ivančna Gorica in Slovenia. High-profile car partnerships followed, as ventures with Audi Sport in FIA WEC and BMW Motorsport in DTM were announced in 2012. The Audi Sport partnership in 2012 saw Akrapovič win its first car world championship title with an Audi R18 e-tron quattro racing car, and added to the strength of the collaboration, which witnessed unbeatable performances by Akrapovič-equipped Audi LMP1 racing cars at the 24h Le Mans from 2010 until 2014. New partners were revealed in 2013, as Akrapovič became an official supplier to Aston Martin Racing in FIA WEC and the official exhaust sponsor to X-raid Team’s MINI ALL4 Racing cars – a partnership that led to victory in the tough and demanding Dakar rally.

With the company being heralded as the best premium exhaust manufacturer in the world, honours and commendations have come its way. Winning the highly important Red Dot: Best of the Best award in the Product Design category – the highest possible honour available – for the Akrapovič Evolution Line (Titanium) exhaust system for the Ducati 1199 Panigale in 2014 further underscored the high standards the company had reached. The system is now a permanent feature at the Red Dot exhibition in Essen.

Akrapovič pushed the innovative boundaries of exhaust design and manufacture even further in 2015, in both the car and motorcycle sectors. The Evolution Line (Titanium) exhaust system for the Mercedes-AMG S 63 Coupé, which was presented at IAA Frankfurt in 2015, is a new-generation exhaust system that is 45% lighter than the stock system, is EC/ECE type approved, and features an innovative active x-connection to create two distinct sound characters of the V8 engine. In the two-wheel market, 2015 saw the latest concept and the first titanium version of the revolutionary Akrapovič exhaust system launched at the prestigious EICMA show in Milan. 

With sustained growth in both the car and bike markets for aftermarket and OEM parts, the expansion in production at the new premises in Črnomelj, which opened in 2015, the company is optimistic about 2016 being a very promising one for sales and new products.

is going from strength to strength, making the outlook for Akrapovič a very promising and exciting one as it commemorates its 25th anniversary with some very exciting events planned for 2016. All of these will be announced as the year progresses, with the latest information available on all of Akrapovič's social media channels and through the company’s diverse marketing platforms, all designed to let you know what is happening with the world’s premium exhaust manufacturer.

Igor Akrapovič says: “This is not only a momentous event for the company, but also a very happy and rewarding one on a personal note for me. When I started making exhausts for myself and some racing friends back in the early nineties, I never envisaged that the company would become what it has, or achieve so much in both the commercial and racing worlds.

All this has been realised through dedication to be the best and the unstinting belief and hard work of the loyal Akrapovič workforce, and I would personally like to thank all of those who have been responsible for getting us to this point. Impressive honours such as Red Dot: Best of the Best are a true recognition of everything that the whole workforce contributes to making the company number one, and the pride shown in every product demonstrates this commitment.

Racing has always been the lifeblood of Akrapovič, and so to go into our 25th anniversary with 100 world champions to our name is a fantastic and almost unbelievable success – I believed we would be able to make competitive exhausts, but to have so many champions is almost beyond what I could have imagined.

We are determined to be the finest we can be in all areas, including the development of innovative products, commercial growth, and the desire to be the best in all our racing activities.”