It is not very often that you get to witness a world first. But this week I was very excited to do just that.
While visiting Viezu, a new kid on the tuning block, the engine codes for a brand new Porsche Turbo were cracked for – as far as we know – the very first time outside of the hallowed halls of Porsche HQ.
It all happened in a corner of the company’s so-called “dream room†(a name, which might seem a little ostentatious for four plain walls within a pre-fab industrial unit in Bromsgrove, but they’re actually referring to the brains at work there).
These guys know their onions – their latest recruit, Mandy, for example, has just completed a degree in motorsport engineering and is just about to join the remapping team.
But I have to admit to feeling just a smidgeon let down by my first world-first: there were no fanfares, fireworks or even a speech – nope, this apparently is every-day stuff for Viezu’s engineers.
“We’re just about to crack this Porsche Turbo ECU; no one’s ever done it before but we need to do it now for a client in Dubai,†declared technical director Jayson rather matter of factly and not addressing anyone in particular.
Sensing I was about to be part of something BIG, I turned around, watched and waited with bated breath.
Nothing happened.
Then: “Well that’s that then – all sorted.†And Jayson made to walk out of the room.
“What? Have you done it?†I screeched?
“Well yes,†he said, looking somewhat confused by my excitement.
Well I suppose once you get used to this kind of thing, the novelty wears off. I’m sure I’ll be much more composed next time!
Seriously though, while it has traditionally been the preserve of the track-day fan and boy-racer, engine tuning, it seems, is ready to go mass-market.
And, according to Viezu’s dynamic chief executive Paul Busby and managing director Linda Williams, there could be big profit opportunities for the taking.
You can find out what they had to say on the matter by reading my interview with them, coming soon in the November issue of CAT.
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