A few years ago, I had a moment that cemented my love for motorcycles and all things that go vroom—watching a heavyset man launch his equally heavyset Royal Enfield off a ramp, straight through a ring of fire, hurtling toward me and my erstwhile colleague. That was my first India Bike Week (IBW), the Goa-bound pilgrimage to all things two-wheeled, and it’s been a staple of my winter travel calendar ever since. While I may no longer have the patience to road-trip like the thousands of fellow bikers who ride in every year, IBW 2024 brought an unexpected revelation: the festival’s makers had something big brewing —a full-blown car festival.
That anticipation set the stage for Generation Speed 2025, held at Aamby Valley Airstrip between the 22nd and 23rd of February. The inaugural event transformed the venue into a vibrant hub of automotive passion, bringing together enthusiasts from all corners of India. The event’s mastermind, Martin da Costa, had been toying with this idea for years. “We’ve been doing IBW for a decade now, and about 2-3 years ago, we thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be great to do something similar for cars?’”
Bringing Generation Speed to life, however, was no small feat. “We were crisscrossing the country, looking for the best cars, the world’s best tuners, the real core of this culture,” Da Costa stressed. The result? Walking through the festival grounds felt like navigating a labyrinth of automotive wonders. Each turn unveiled a new surprise—from rare JDM classics like the Nissan 300ZX and Toyota Supra to modern muscle cars, supercars, and everything in between. The atmosphere buzzed with the symphony of revving engines and animated conversations, embodying the essence of a true motoring Disneyland.
More than just a showcase of automotive excellence, Generation Speed sought to break down barriers within India’s fragmented car culture. “A lot of the mod guys had never met the tuners, the tuners had never met the classic car guys, and the classic car guys had never met the supercar guys,” Da Costa noted. “They stayed in their silos. This festival is an attempt—no, more than an attempt—to bring them together. To get them talking, sharing knowledge, doing business, and making magic happen.”
One of the most exhilarating aspects of the event was the drag strip, where the sheer power and precision of tuned-up machines stole the show. Audi R8s, Nissan GT-R R35s, and tuned up Beemers tore down the tarmac, demonstrating the cutting edge of high-performance modding in India. But even more impressive was the massive presence of modders, custom-tuned drift machines, and competition-winning builds, all drawing in visibly enthusiastic crowds eager to learn about the craft behind these automotive masterpieces. The excitement of seeing a perfectly executed widebody kit or a hand-built turbocharged engine wasn’t just limited to hardcore gearheads—it was palpable among first-time visitors as well. Da Costa was particularly excited about how drifting had taken centre stage. “Five years ago, I wouldn’t have guessed that drifting would blow up the way it has. And yet, here we are, with people watching, talking, and saying, ‘You know what? I should build a drift car.’ That’s how these scenes grow.”
The festival also paid homage to India’s rich automotive heritage. Vintage Maharaja cars stood proudly alongside contemporary builds and choice JDM imports, narrating tales of a bygone era while inspiring future projects. “We wanted to make sure we paid respect to India’s motoring history—our racing culture, our custom culture, the sheer passion that’s been here for decades,” Da Costa said. With its first edition in the books, Generation Speed has set the foundation for something massive. “This is just the start,” Da Costa promised. “Give it time. In 20 years, we’ll still be here, watching this culture grow in front of us.”
Niche To Nationwide: Inside India’s Car Modding Scene
If Generation Speed was an eye-opener for India’s emerging auto culture, the country’s car modding scene has long been the underground pulse keeping things interesting. Few people have documented this space as closely as Bhuvan Chowdhary—better known as BChoww to his Instagram followers—who has spent years chronicling everything from daily driver builds to 1000-horsepower monsters.
“Back in the early 2000s, the scene was way more niche,” Chowdhary told me. “There was no plug-and-play tuning. You had to actually know how to build cars from scratch, and tuning was almost an art form.” Before modern ECUs and pre-mapped turbo upgrades, modding was a meticulous, hands-on process. “People were boring engines, porting heads, fabricating their own intake manifolds—it was a different game.”
The tuning community of the 2000s was small, exclusive, and often dictated by access to parts. Most enthusiasts had to import components at great expense, relying on a handful of trusted sources. “There was no eBay, no online ordering. You either knew someone who could get parts in, or you had to modify what was available locally.” This led to creative workarounds, where tuners were machining parts themselves or repurposing components from completely different vehicles.
At the time, naturally aspirated cars ruled the Indian streets, with the Mitsubishi Lancer, Honda City VTEC, and Skoda Octavia vRS among the top choices for performance enthusiasts. “Tuning those cars was a labour of love. You had to open up the engine, balance the crankshaft, find the right combination of porting and polishing to extract even a modest power gain,” Chowdhary explained. “Getting a 20-30 per cent bump in power back then was a serious achievement. Today, with a remap and bolt-ons, you can get 50 per cent gains on some engines.”
Mod’s Own Country
India’s modding scene is deeply influenced by geography, and each region has cultivated its own distinct style—fuelled by a mixture of varying local talent, parts availability, and India’s famously diverse cultural diversity.
“In Delhi, it's all about big numbers and presence,” Chowdhary said. “The cars here are aggressive—huge turbos, fat tyres, full-blown aesthetic mods. It’s a horsepower war, and the flashier, the better.” High-performance, high-road presence builds dominate, with large turbochargers and widebody kits a common sight.
“Bangalore is a different animal,” he continued. “You’ll see a completely stock-looking car with a ridiculous amount of power under the hood. That’s just how they like it—sleeper builds, engineering-focused, no unnecessary flair.” Many Bangalore modders prioritise subtle modifications, aiming for dyno figures while maintaining an understated look. I got to see this up close with the proudly displayed machines—including a 400BHP Mitsubishi Cedia and a jaw-dropping 600BHP Honda City—of Race Concepts Motorsports, a performance garage operating out of the ‘Luru. Gleaming engine cases with stunning specs sheets greeted festivalgoers; it's interesting to note that many Delhi enthusiasts were spotted giving free rides, flaunting flashy bodywork, raised suspensions and hip-hop blasting through their audio systems—while the Bangalore tuners cooled off in the shade, letting their engine bays and horsepower figures do the talking. (All stereotypes exist for a reason, I guess.)
Closer home, stance culture has taken hold—although I’d still argue that Mumbai has a healthy middle ground, with a focus on community and accessibility, although good garages are expensive and rare. “It’s about clean aesthetics and fitment” Chowdhary opines. “You see a lot of people investing in air suspension, polished wheels, and just the right camber. It’s a whole lifestyle thing now.” Echoing the car culture of other cities around the world, these locales have become hotspots for customisation, where form often takes precedence over raw power.
The Future of Car Modding in India
The modding industry in India is booming, nearing a billion-dollar market. Even mass-market cars like the Tata Altroz are now getting performance tunes locally, a sign of how widespread the culture is becoming. But the future also depends on navigating legal grey areas, as many modifications remain in a regulatory limbo. “The law is murky, but demand keeps growing,” Chowdhary said. “People love to modify their cars, whether it’s stance, power, or just better lighting.”
As India’s car culture continues to evolve, the lines between different automotive subcultures are starting to blur. More than ever, there’s a community forming—one that appreciates everything from stance builds to full-send track machines. And if Generation Speed was any indication, the future of Indian car culture looks very, very fast.
