RevDrive
Prototype in testing on a Mk2 Escort RS2000

Your original clocks.
Driven by GPS.

RevDrive replaces the speedometer cable on a classic car with a small GPS-driven motor behind the clocks. Your original speedo and odometer keep working, and they read your real speed, whatever gearbox, diff or tyres you run.

Why RevDrive

The cable is the problem

A mechanical speedometer only reads right when the gearbox, diff and tyres match what the car left the factory with. Change one and the needle is wrong, or there is nowhere left to plug the cable in.

Gearbox swaps

No drive, no problem

Five-speed and race box conversions often lose the speedo drive or change its ratio. RevDrive doesn't need one.

Accuracy

Reads true speed

Speed comes from satellites ten times a second, so diff ratios and tyre sizes stop mattering.

Originality

Keeps your clocks

No digital dash, no cutting. The original needle and odometer are driven exactly as the cable used to drive them.

How it works

Satellite to needle

GPS receiver

A u-blox GPS module measures ground speed ten times a second, straight from the satellites.

Filtering

The controller ignores weak fixes, holds zero when you're parked, and smooths the speed so the needle moves like a real one.

Your calibration

Each mph is turned into the exact motor speed your dial needs, from a table set up for your speedometer.

Motor and clocks

A brushless motor with position feedback spins the speedometer input, mounted on a bracket behind the clocks.

The RevDrive app

Set up from your phone

RevDrive makes its own Wi-Fi hotspot. Join it, open the app in your phone's browser, and you're in. No internet, no laptop, nothing to install.

Road

Big live GPS speed to check against your needle while you drive.

Test

Pick any speed and watch the needle go there on the bench.

Calibrate

Nudge the motor speed mark by mark until the needle sits exactly on each one, then save it to the unit.

RevDrive app Road screen showing GPS speed
Road
RevDrive app Test screen with speed buttons
Test
RevDrive app Calibrate screen with RPM per mph
Calibrate

App screens shown with demo data.

Calibration

Every speedo is a little different

Mechanical speedometers aren't perfectly linear, especially at the bottom of the dial. So RevDrive doesn't use one fixed ratio. It stores the motor speed for each mark on your dial.

10 mph124 RPM
30 mph524 RPM
60 mph931 RPM
Motor RPM needed for each dial speed, measured on Mk2 Escort RS2000 clocks 0300 600900 1200 020 4060 80 Dial speed (mph) Motor RPM

Measured on our test clocks, 10 to 80 mph. Your speedometer gets its own table.

Progress

Where we're at

RevDrive is a working prototype, not a product you can buy yet. Here's the build so far, and what comes next.

  1. Motor drive proven

    Smooth and cool-running from 30 to 2,000 RPM on the bench.

  2. GPS speed working

    Ten updates a second, with filtering for parked cars and weak signal.

  3. Calibrated on real clocks

    Mk2 Escort RS2000 speedometer set up from 10 to 80 mph.

  4. Phone app

    Road, Test and Calibrate screens built into the unit.

  5. Brackets and road testing

    Refining the mounting to remove vibration, then testing on the road.

  6. Kit version

    Custom circuit board and printed parts for a tidy install.

Register interest

Want one for your car?

Tell us your car and speedometer, and we'll let you know when kits are ready.

Or email info@revdrivegps.co.uk