Tuning in Russian: Former Kostroma in the USA makes cars for presidents

Former Kostroma resident Eduard Orlov over the course of several years turned his workshop in Miami into a premium tuning studio with clients all over the world. Orlov and his team make expensive SUVs from serial pickups, which have almost nothing in common with the original version. Edward's clients include large companies, millionaires and even presidents. ForumDaily talks about the history of successful immigration.

The birth of a business

The owner of the company Devolro moved to the United States from Kostroma, where in 90-s he had a successful distillery business. Having won the green card, the Orlov spouses in 1999 first came just to look around and take a walk for a couple of months in New York, but they remained in Brooklyn.

Edward tells ForumDaily that he always dreamed of getting to America. However, here he had to build his life anew, and soon after his arrival he got a job working as a truck driver.

“At first I didn’t really know what to do, because I had no relatives, no friends, no language, no knowledge of anything. Having received his license, he began working as a truck driver,” says Eduard. — I traveled around the country for about a year, at the same time looking at what I could do. I really liked everything I saw, because there was nothing like it in Russia. Besides Alaska, I’ve probably traveled to all the states.”

In 2001, Edward bought a pickup, a one-year-old Ford, reworked it and somewhere in half a year took it to Russia.

“I cleared the car through customs, and my friends immediately asked me to sell it - it was very unusual. At first I didn’t want to sell, but when they offered me 50 thousand dollars above its value, I still gave it. It was good money - exactly as much as a truck driver in the USA earns in a year without getting out from behind the wheel,” admits Eduard.

Returning to the United States, he bought three more cars, began to finish them and send them to Russia. In addition, Orlov was engaged in selling home and to various countries of various boats, including boats and yachts.

By that time, in 2003, Edward Orlov had already moved from New York to Miami, Florida.

Ed Orlov - on the contrary

For tuning cars, he first rented lifts in the workshops, and then began working with American partners who completed the cars for his projects. But soon, he said, certain problems arose from the point of view of the attitude towards the quality of work.

“Americans don’t bother with quality. The task here is to raise the car’s suspension, as long as it is high, and no one cares what is in it and how it will drive. When we made cars in American tuning studios and then brought them to Russia, they could not withstand anything and simply fell apart. Therefore, we began to produce components ourselves that could withstand Russian roads, loads, and temperature conditions from minus 40 to plus 40 degrees Celsius,” says Eduard Orlov.

In 2009, he got the idea to create his own company. Edward patented the brand Devolro [Ed Orlov - on the contrary] and began to look for manufacturers who could make components for cars under this brand.

Devolro Diablo. Photo: Rafael Apriam

Photo: Rafael Apriam

From their own components, Orlov and his team, in which mainly Russian managers and Cuban universal mechanics work, have moved on to complete tuning of cars under the Devolro brand.

Devolro specializes in SUVs, which are created mainly from production Toyota Tundra models. According to the owner of the tuning studio, practically nothing remains of the original, including not a single sign. As a comparison, Eduard cites cars from Brabus, a German tuning studio that specializes in engine and body tuning of Mercedes-Benz cars.

“Some people say they drive a Mercedes, and others say they drive a Brabus.” So our clients now drive Devolro, and not Tundra,” says Orlov. “We buy a finished car from them [the Toyota company] and move away from this name. They know us well, we communicate with them. Why did you choose Toyota? This is the most reliable device, with reliable engines and gearboxes, their quality has been tested over the years.”

American parts and Italian leather

We go with Edward to the workshop, built on the site of the usual warehouse that was here before. Work is simultaneously carried out on several machines. A special pride is the press of our own assembly, on which Devolro brand lattices are made, which protect the entire front of the machine. According to Orlov, even if a brick falls, he will not be able to pierce the radiator.

After a couple of months, the car on the left will look like a car on the right. Photo: Rafael Apriam

Photo: Rafael Apriam

“We tune both our own cars and the cars of clients that they bring to us. This car, for example, came from Ontario,” says Edward, approaching one of the cars [on the left in the photos above]. - Here is another, completely new car, which we are completely reworking. Now let's remove the body from it. The cabin will immediately rise, be disassembled down to the bolt, and everything inside will be cut out. Most often, it’s new cars that we deal with, although sometimes we also restore old cars,” says Orlov.

The body with a protective coating Line-X, which is used when tuning cars, is not scratched at all. This is a two-component polymer that heats up in a special tank to + 150 degrees Celsius, then it is applied with a special spray gun and hardens in exactly 4 seconds. And all - you can go through the bushes and trees.

“We bring leather and upholstery for cars from Italy. The person personally flies there, personally selects the skins so that they are free from defects, and brings them in suitcases, not in containers. There are two seamstresses on staff,” Eduard further explains about the specifics of finishing the machines. — No Chinese or Taiwanese spare parts, only made in the USA, we work with 63 factories that make various components based on our designs and prototypes. The plant puts them into production and makes them for us in small batches,” explains Orlov.

If you want to test the car, you need Russian roads

Each car goes from 2 to 4 months, depending on the complexity of the configuration. To test their cars, Edward Orlov sends them on an expedition to Russia and the former Soviet Union. Most of the expeditions are carried out at the expense of the company itself, and in some cases Devolro simply provides the organizers with a car. In the USA, according to Orlov, it is extremely difficult to test a car - too good roads.

“We traveled for 3-4 weeks through the mountains of Colorado, California, through deserts and so on, but here you even drive through the mountains and there is asphalt everywhere. There are practically no difficult places. For example, we have never used a winch here. Well, there's nowhere to use it. We never turned on the locks, because everything is fine everywhere. Extreme ranges are specially built here - with mud and puddles. But when you travel around Russia, there is extreme sports all around,” says Orlov.

The first expedition across Russia, to which Orlov sent his car, passed along the route Vladivostok-Moscow and was called “10 thousand miles”. In May-June 2012, a famous Russian extreme traveler, journalist and photographer Vlad Minin traveled with a driver in a Devolro car through Russian cities and villages.

Minin held presentations in major cities, after which he drove 100-200 km from the central highway, where people live in the villages, essentially cut off from the civilized world, and brought them gifts and school supplies. The project was held under the auspices of the Russian Geographical Society.

The Devolro also visited the expedition From Russia, during which it traveled about 20 thousands of kilometers, and on World Around World World, whose organizers set themselves the task of traveling around the world with passports, but without visas, to show that there are no borders in the world.

“All our projects were social,” says Orlov. “At the same time, the trips showed the weaknesses of the car, which could not be discovered in America.”

Devolro brand grilles are created using a custom build press. Photo: Rafael Apriam

Devolro's clients are mainly Russians. Before the currency crisis in Russia, which began at the end of 2014 and was accompanied by a sharp weakening of the ruble against the dollar, almost 90% of orders came from Moscow and other Russian cities, about 5% from Kazakhstan, another 5% from the domestic market and the rest of the world .

The company’s offices, among others, are located in Ukraine, Germany and the United Arab Emirates.

Presidents and Special Forces

According to Eduard Orlov, Devolro cars are in the garage of the leaders of 15 states of the world. However, the owner of the tuning studio categorically refuses to call them. In addition, special units of different countries and security companies use the Devolro SUVs.

“Mainly rich people or companies buy cars from us. The cost of one car is from 200 to 300 thousand dollars. Companies most often buy cars that have been modified to improve cross-country ability. For example, to travel to some development sites, to monitor oil rigs, to transport crews, and so on. For Russia, we are also making a “northern” version - with special insulation of the interior, heating of axles, gearbox, engine, shock absorbers, so that everything works even at temperatures down to minus 60 degrees,” explains Orlov.

Devolro cars are also used for filming movies. For example, in the recently released film The Cain Code, which was filmed by Belarusian and American filmmakers.

In 2015, Devolro took part in the so-called "pursuit" in South America, which takes place outside the overall standings of the prestigious Dakar Rally.

Photo: Devolro

Photo: Devolro

Orientation to the American market

Edward admits that if they used to make 35-40 and even 50 machines a year, then with a crisis, production fell by about 70%. But now the company has become actively involved in various shows and exhibitions held in Florida, and is entering the American market, which, according to Edward, had not interested him.

“The tuning market in America is huge, it’s worth billions of dollars. But they don’t do full development like we do here. They can lift the car, but no one knows how and on what suspension they will put it. We are responsible for every detail,” Orlov does not hide his pride.

While Americans are not lining up for his cars, the market in America, according to the company owner, is much more stable than in Russia, and there are more wealthy people here. Another factor that plays into Orlov’s hands is that pickup trucks are very popular in the United States.

“The only difficulty in promoting in the States is the price. We have an expensive car, and people are accustomed to cheap tuning with Chinese components. Chinese bumpers cost 300-400 dollars, and ours is the cheapest – 3500. And they don’t understand how they can pay that kind of money for a car,” states Orlov.

Computer sketch tuned UAZ Hunter. Photo: Devolro

Devolro's immediate goals are the refinement of Russian UAZ vehicles, including Hunter and Patriot models. It is planned not only the external tuning and installation of off-road accessories, but also the replacement of the engine, the finalization of the gearbox and the complete processing of the interior. However, according to Orlov, the Russian partners temporarily froze the project due to the same currency crisis.

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