A Guide to Scorpion Exhausts: Where Innovation Meets Performance

Loads of raw power, a sound profile that gets you grinning like mad and looks to die for. These are the ingredients in any aftermarket exhaust. Pair this with innovative technologies, robust materials, and designs that extract every ounce of pleasure the engine has to give, and you have a winner. What’s left is finding a brand you can trust and one to get these goodies delivered in a neat, well-built, and lasting package.

There are dozens of aftermarket options in the UK when looking for exhausts. But very few keep their promise of expertise, exquisite craftsmanship, and passion in all their products. And fewer still deliver the performance you want. That is unless you choose Scorpion exhausts. The company has been making some of the UK’s most sought-after exhaust systems for cars and bikes for over three decades.

The Story of the Brand

Founded in 1992, Scorpion is born of sheer dedication to developing the best stainless-steel exhausts. Within that time, it has become a pioneering name known worldwide thanks to its innovative technologies, such as removable DB killers and interchangeable performance upgrades coupled with lifetime warranties. It also helps that it’s the go-to brand for motorsports, with teams and individual racers seeking high-end and meticulously engineered products tailored to the performance profiles in each engine.

The brand has provided bespoke exhausts that have won countless races on both two and four-wheels. Motorcycling victories in the British SuperBike, FIM World Endurance, and the Isle of Man TT competitions and partnerships with works and privateer BTCC teams and The Mini Challenge (just to name a few) have earned Scorpion the following of the broader driver and rider community.

What Scorpion Does Best

The company offers unique exhaust acoustics, the best of British engineering, and unmatched product performance. Sound quality is one of the main areas buyers focus on when looking for a solution for their car or bike. You want something that tickles the senses without going overboard with a drone.

What this company has managed to do is dress its products in a unique sound profile, not too loud and not too mellow. And all the while keeping performance parameters at their peaks.

This is done through careful choice of materials handcrafted to the desired shape. You’ll find piping and parts using high-grade and treated 304 stainless steel, along with weight-saving materials like carbon and titanium in the tips. Tubing is mandrel-bent in hydraulic die presses to prevent kinking and ensure uniform width along the length of the exhaust.

There’s also a bespoke line of tailpipe tips to get the look you want. The end product is one that oozes attention to even the finest details, all ready for any occasion.

The company is conservative with its power estimates, but real-world testing on dedicated dynos has seen production bikes and cars gaining over 10 percent of rated power over factory figures. Besides the boost in performance, these exhausts are lightweight yet durable, with considerable weight savings. As an example, a typical cat-back weighs almost 25% less than factory variants.

Cat-Back, DPF and GPF Systems

To remove restrictions and backpressure, the brand has gone with wider tubing, ranging between 2.75 and 3 inches, depending on the configuration and vehicle. You’ll find cat-back and DPF or GPF-back systems engineered to the specifics of the vehicle.

Individual parts are part of a modular system, letting riders and drivers fine-tune performance and acoustic properties. These are easy to install on OEM components or mixed and matched with other exhaust parts and accessories.

Components are available for mundane everyday cars like the standard versions of the VW Golf or Vauxhall Astra, to more souped-up and leftfield options such as the Golf GTi and R, the Abarth 500, Nissan 370Z, the Toyota GR Yaris, and various BMW, Audi, and Mercedes models.

Cat-back systems are bread-and-butter mods, one step up from simpler and shorter axle-back systems. They replace factory parts from the catalytic converter all the way to the tailpipes. Different cars will understandably have different configurations, though a common trait is wider and straighter tubing for more airflow and lower exhaust temperatures.

One of the first Scorpion cat-back systems was produced for the Golf GTi MK4 in the 1990s and consisted of 2.5-inch tubing and 50mm twin tips. Today you can find it with an additional turbo downpipe. Resonated versions fulfill emissions and sound standards. If using the car for track use, there’s also a de-cat option or a catalytic delete to further improve airflow and gas exhaust velocity. And this adds to the better sound and more power down to the wheels.

The newer VW Golf GTi MK8 has a similar setup, the difference being that this is a GPF-back system. Here the tubing is set at 3 inches, with the standard options of turbo downpipes, and can be resonated or non-resonated to help the note and prevent droning. There’s also the choice of custom tips, such as the carbon fiber ‘Ascari’ or polished steel/ black ceramic ‘Daytona,’ both in twin setups and 114mm, to add some visual appeal.

Strictly-performance-oriented cars like the BMW G80 M3 can be bettered with the Scorpion half-system (essentially GPF-back) exhausts that connect directly to the OEM catalytic converter. These shed almost 4 kilos off the stock variant, improve the car’s throttle response, and give a characteristic crackle and pop to the sound. Additional power comes with a GPF delete that widens the tubing up front but is not street-legal. And like other options, this too can be had as a resonated or non-resonated variant.

If you’ve been passed down an older E30 3 Series, check if it’s been fitted with the now legendary Scorpion DTM tailpipe with ‘Lemans’ tips. This was among the first custom exhausts Scorpion made for the Bavarian brand. Newer cars also have some interesting additions. The F80 M3, for instance, comes with electronically controlled silencer valves that open or close from the cabin and let you play with the sound and how loud it gets.

These are just two examples. Other cars will have other additions, such as revised X or Y mid-sections to control flow and modified headers. The configuration of your system will depend on whether the car is diesel or petrol, has a turbo (or two) fitted, and the cylinder count. This can be a standard single exhaust with one or twin tips or more exotic dual and dual crossover systems in cars, putting out more power.

And lastly, let’s not forget that the company also makes full and slip-on exhausts and silencers, as well as bypass pipes and headers for a range of bikes and scooters. These are available in varying designs and materials (titanium and ceramics are used higher up) and are ideal for track and street use.

Final Words

Scorpion backs up the impeccable workmanship in all of its creations with lifetime warranties. This attests to the high level of R&D and engineering that goes into each product. The use of quality materials, advanced production processes, and unsurpassed reliability is bettered only by the performance you get with a Scorpion car exhaust. More power, lower weight, unique looks, and a raspy note for a reasonable price.