Our History, Our Future

The WOT Vision

In the world of engine remapping, we are far from novices. We cut our teeth almost two decades ago, at a time when the rules of the game were radically different. For WOT Founder and CEO, François Robillard, the adventure began very young, creating ShifTech Engineering at just 22 years old. Eighteen years later, the landscape has changed, and with it, our vision.

A Rich Past, a Reimagined Future: The Evolution of a Profession

Nearly two decades ago, incentives to buy used Euro 3 diesel vehicles, sometimes even subsidized, illustrated a context where environmental concerns were less pressing. The main goal of remapping then was to achieve pure performance, without always worrying about emissions. Vehicles were less complex, and anti-pollution devices, in their infancy, often caused more headaches than real solutions.

The temptation was strong, and it was easy to fall into the trap of removing anti-pollution devices (DPF, EGR, AdBlue) to gain maximum power and a more assertive exhaust sound. This was a common practice for many tuners.

But today, the context has radically changed. With increased environmental awareness and ever-stricter European legal requirements, we ask ourselves a fundamental question: is there still room for this "wild" remapping? Is this the future we want to build, one our children will blame us for in fifteen years when the planet suffocates even more? The answer, for us, is a categorical no.

Europe, Standards, and Regulation: Towards Inevitable Frameworks

The automotive sector is under unprecedented regulatory pressure. The European Union, the driving force behind this transformation, is imposing increasingly drastic standards for pollutant emissions and safety. This is no longer just a trend but an irreversible direction that affects every aspect of the vehicle:

• Euro Standards (Euro 6d, Euro 7): These standards dictate increasingly low emission thresholds for nitrogen oxides (NOx), fine particles (PM), carbon monoxide (CO), and unburned hydrocarbons (HC). For manufacturers, this means massive investments in complex technologies (DPF, SCR/AdBlue, GPF for gasoline) to purify exhaust gases.

• Low Emission Zones (LEZ): Their rapid proliferation in major European cities restricts access for the most polluting vehicles. A non-compliant vehicle simply cannot circulate.

• "Tampering" Legislation: Many European countries are strengthening their legislation against unauthorized modifications that affect vehicle safety or emissions. The detection of these modifications is facilitated by increasingly sophisticated diagnostic tools and more rigorous technical inspections. Notably, the CVN (Calibration Verification Number) has become a key tool. This number, stored in the ECU, is a kind of fingerprint of the original engine calibration. If a non-compliant remap is performed, this CVN is altered, which is detectable during the technical inspection. A vehicle that does not have an appropriate CVN is simply refused passage.

Faced with this strong trend, the idea that engine remapping can continue to operate outside any framework is a dangerous illusion. The absence of regulation and compliance exposes the entire industry to a major risk: that of a pure and simple ban on all power modifications. Europe, with its increasingly strict Euro 7 standards, will not allow ultra-clean vehicles and remapped vehicles that emit more pollutants to coexist. A framework is not only desirable but essential to prevent it from cutting deep, definitively ending all forms of power increase without even seeking to create exceptions. This would be a blow to our passion and to an industry that, done right, has real value.

Our Conviction: Homologation, an Imperative for the Survival of Remapping

At WOT, we have a strong conviction: the future of remapping will inevitably involve homologation. It is essential to create a clear regulatory framework. Allowing "engine tuners" to do absolutely anything and everything, while manufacturers are constrained by ever-stricter standards like Euro 7, is untenable.

That's why we have chosen homologated remapping. Increasing a vehicle's power while scrupulously respecting anti-pollution standards is a major technical challenge. Only the largest tuners, those who invest massively in research and development, manage to reconcile these two objectives. At WOT, our approach is one of intense, tailor-made development, very similar to the methods of car manufacturers themselves. We don't just modify a few parameters; we deeply analyze each calibration, conduct rigorous tests on a dynamometer and road tests to guarantee not only performance but also reliability and emission compliance.

And that's what WOT demonstrates every day. Month after month, we enrich our catalog of engines for which we offer certified and homologated remaps.

A Bold Choice, Guided by Passion and Responsibility

Certainly, it's a risky choice. Homologation is terribly expensive. It's a colossal investment in research and development, testing, and certifications, which weighs heavily on our finances. But when you have a passion, when you fundamentally believe in what you do, you have to follow through on your convictions.

We are aware that we may be ahead of our time, that things are moving slowly, and that the path to homologation is long and full of pitfalls. But at WOT, we hope, and will do everything possible, to ensure that it will still be permitted to drive a remapped car in 10 or 15 years. We want to offer responsible performance that respects both driving sensations and the environment we will leave to our children. That is the vision of WOT.