29/09/2025
𝐔𝐥𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞, 𝐖𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝, 𝐁𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐞, 𝐓𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐨, 𝐄𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧, 𝐞𝐭𝐜.: 𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠?
First of all, let me introduce myself. My name is Maxime Aeby, I’m 46 years old and I am the founder of Legal Street Racing. Legal Street Racing is a small company with no permanent employees specializing in the import and certification of tuning car parts for the Swiss market.
As some of you know, Swiss legislation is very restrictive. It is certainly one of the most restrictive in the world. In this context, it is therefore very complicated to legally modify your vehicle. Each part must have a certification of approval, which is very difficult or very expensive to obtain. This is precisely where we come in to legalize parts that at first glance would seem impossible to certify.
I would like to clarify this point before continuing my presentation so that everyone can form their own opinion on the matter.
I recently visited Wonderland (France), organized by Elevent. It was a magnificent event bringing together tuning enthusiasts from France and Europe.
What I am about to say below will certainly upset some people, but I think someone has to dare to say it.
I want to denounce the overall way in which cars are judged at major European tuning shows.
First of all, I would like to clarify that my comments do not in any way concern the aesthetic value of these vehicles, as these projects are truly magnificent, refined, accomplished, and of exceptional quality.
My comments concern tuning and its future. My thoughts seek to answer the following questions: Does these cars encourage wide audience people to spend money on their cars to buy auto parts? Does these cars encourage people to try to make our cars even more beautiful by adding this or that part?
Without having to think too long, I answer no, without hesitation. And that's the crux of the problem. Because the average person will never be able to identify with this type of vehicle and will certainly never have the financial means to carry out such a project. This is precisely the paradox I want to highlight. Indeed, the current trend at major international meetings is to reward prestige or supercars cars with budgets easily approaching €100,000 or more for some. However, whether we like it or not, it is ordinary people without significant financial means who keep the companies involved in car tuning in business. Do these cars inspire dreams? Of course. Do these cars encourage people to spend more on their cars in the hope of reaching such a level? No, quite the contrary. I would even go so far as to say that the opposite is true. And that is indeed the reason why I am speaking up. At this rate, in just a few years, only cars from companies specializing in automotive modification will be able to compete in international competitions. That is, a small, exclusive circle of people. This may already be the case. And I think that's fundamentally a mistake.
As I mentioned earlier, in the current trend, if you haven't invested at least 50,000 euro in your car's and configuration, there's no point in entering a one of these tuning competitions in the hope of winning something. This rule, which is somewhat universal and unfortunately natural, also applies to other areas. Unfortunately, there's nothing we can do about it. If that were the end of it, it would be one thing, but on top of that, if the vehicle isn't a luxury vehicle worth around or more than €100,000, there's also no point in entering one of these competitions in the hope of win.
And that's precisely the problem. I believe that everyone should be able to harbor the secret hope of one day winning such a competition, that everyone should be able to dream, and in my opinion, it is precisely this dream that drives the machine, the company, and the tuning industry. However, the top international tuning shows no longer allow for this dream due to their selection process and trends. Who among us will ever be able to afford to buy, for exemple, a Ferrari, install a Liberty Walk x Pandem x Varis kit, and have the interior custom-made in the Louis Vuitton workshops or I don't know what luxury company?
Without realizing it, tuning, which is essentially a popular activity, is taking a detestable jet-set turn. Do we really want to go down this path?
This message is addressed to all stakeholders in the tuning industry, whether they are promoters, automotive modification workshops, or show organizers. It is not aimed at anyone in particular, but at everyone at the same time. Don't forget who buys the tickets for these events and who are the people who are really driving this sector forward or tuning will soon only exist in Dubai on hypercars....
____________________________________
