For nearly two decades, the German enthusiast magazines TUNING and VW Speed have presented the prestigious THEO Award. Theo who? Among air-cooled Volkswagen enthusiasts, there was only one true VW Beetle expert: Theo Decker. Back in the days of Germany’s post-war economic miracle in the late 1950s, Theo Decker founded one of the country’s first tuning companies in the Borbeck district of Essen.

Within just a few years, TDE – Theo Decker Essen became the go-to authority for air-cooled Beetles. From high-performance engines to complete conversion kits, TDE offered everything needed to make VW Beetles faster. Theo Decker crafted everything himself, melting down worn cylinder heads to cast custom intake manifolds, for example.

Even today, his TDE twin carburetor systems remain highly sought after. It’s no surprise that Theo Decker, who passed away in 2016, became the namesake of one of Germany’s oldest tuning awards. The winners of the THEO Award aren’t chosen by journalists, but by the readers of TUNING and VW Speed across categories like exhaust systems, car audio, suspension, wheels, tuners, care products, and accessories.

From the very beginning, our KW suspensions brand consistently ranked in the top three, going head-to-head with the most respected names in the tuning scene. Between 2010 and 2025, readers voted us into second place in 2011 and 2015. In 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025, we proudly defended our first-place position—recognized for our quality, technical innovation, and value for money. BBS also successfully defended its first-place title in this year’s poll. A heartfelt thank you to the loyal readers of TUNING and VW Speed!