Dealer Brian Miller, left, hired Tico Lemoine from Porsche for his Manhattan Motorwerks, which operates out of Miller's Manhattan Motorcars Chelsea store.

For some customers, 440 to 500 hp just isn't enough. So Manhattan Motorcars owner Brian Miller offers them a boost while helping his F&I managers and service advisers, too.

In January, Miller launched a performance division for his ultraluxury-brand dealerships. He offers enhancement packages to new- and used-car buyers in his F&I offices and pays F&I managers for each package they sell. Service advisers can also sell packages and earn extra.

"There are a lot of people who'd like to have another 75 or 100 horsepower," Miller told Automotive News. "We've had a lot of interest in more sound to the exhaust, too, fancy wheels and more graphics on the cars."

Miller's performance division is called Manhattan Motorwerks. Despite its infancy, through word-of-mouth alone, it has received at least $100,000 in orders for engine upgrades, horsepower boosts, exhaust enhancements and removal of weight for the track, Miller said.

That level of interest at such an early stage has led Miller to believe Motorwerks could add an annual "seven-figure gross profit" to the group by early 2020. It is also a unique branding opportunity.

"In today's world, you have to keep doing things to separate yourself," Miller said. "I'm trying to do things to keep us above the fray."

Miller owns Manhattan Motorcars, Manhattan Motorcars Chelsea, Porsche of Huntington and Classic Audi in the New York City area and Porsche of Princeton in New Jersey. In addition to Porsche and Audi, he sells Bentley, Bugatti, Koenigsegg, Lamborghini, Lotus, Rolls-Royce and Spyker vehicles. The group sells about 4,000 new and used vehicles a year, Miller said.

The performance division operates out of the 20,000-square-foot service area at Manhattan Motorcars Chelsea in lower Manhattan. There are 10 lifts and a service staff to support it. His hiring plans for Motorwerks call for a master technician, marketer, fabricator and parts manager as well as, eventually, four or five more technicians.

Miller's biggest hire so far is Tico Lemoine, who joined the performance division as operations manager Jan. 2 from Porsche Cars North America, where he had been regional aftersales manager for nearly six years.

Lemoine and Miller hatched the idea for Motorwerks in early November during a casual conversation. Fifteen years as a multibrand factory rep as well as a stint in 2008-10 as general manager of Merrick Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep of Wantagh, in New York, which carries Mopar performance parts, had taught Lemoine that performance upgrades offered a lucrative yet mostly untapped opportunity.

Packages include a performance exhaust system for a 2018 Porsche 911 GT3.

'One-stop shop'

"Manufacturers don't do a really good job at offering this performance-type of factory upgrades," Lemoine told Automotive News. "But if a dealership does it, it becomes a one-stop shop for everything if the customer gets the upgrade there and brings their service there."

Lemoine is designing the performance packages sold in Miller's F&I offices and has created a dedicated menu for use in stores and on an upcoming website. He also has trained F&I managers on how to sell the performance menu alongside traditional F&I products.

"I walked them through the packages," Lemoine said. "If a customer goes very technical on them, because we have customers who are very knowledgeable, the F&I manager will direct them to me and I can respond or reach out to the customer myself. Ultimately, it's their sale, I'm just there to complement it."

While the performance menu can also be pitched by service advisers, it made sense to offer it as part of the F&I process on vehicle sales.

"We decided it was better to show it in F&I when [customers] are excited," Miller said. "When their head clears, we can tell them about what else we can do for them with performance."

Price of performance

The packages mainly target 2009-18 models. Initially, the focus is on Porsche, Lamborghini and Bentley. The packages range from $6,495 to $45,000, depending on the vehicle model. "We will be offering even bigger packages down the road," Lemoine said.

The basic package on a Porsche 911 includes upgrades such as high-flow air filtration, performance exhaust system, engine control tuning for higher horsepower and torque while keeping emission controls in place and, if the car has a manual transmission, a performance short- shifter. It costs $11,995 for vehicles with manual transmissions and $10,750 for those with automatics.

From there, customers can choose to add on. Those options include, for example, clear-side marker lights for $150 and a full coil-over-shock (shock absorbers encircled by coil springs) suspension upgrade for about $6,750 installed. Some Lamborghini complete exhaust systems can cost more than $20,000 installed, Lemoine said.

'Forward-thinking'

Miller's F&I managers are paid a flat fee for the sale of each package. The higher the price of the package, the higher the amount of the flat fee.

"There is so much intricacy to these, it's easier to just do a flat," Lemoine said. But it's lucrative pay.

"Say they sell three to four packages a month, it'll be over $1,000 for them," Lemoine said.

"We wanted to make it make sense. It doesn't take too much out [of profits], but it enhances everyone."

Moreover, after a customer orders an upgrade, he or she and the F&I manager can track the status of the work through a website using a special login. It will be an "interactive venue between the customer and us," Lemoine said, enabling the customer to order additional upgrades.

He and Miller say the demand exists for performance products.

"Unfortunately, a lot of the franchised dealers haven't wanted to dabble in it," Lemoine said. "Brian is a very forward-thinking owner. There are hundreds of aftermarket shops in this area and they do very well, but they don't really have a tie to a manufacturer. We can offer manufacturer-approved spec upgrades as well as the aftermarket stuff."

You can reach Jamie LaReau at jlareau@crain.com -- Follow Jamie on Twitter: @jlareauan

Tags: Dealers Finance & Insurance Dealerships Service