Luxaviation Group’s Pieter Steyn Talks About His Pride and Joy
25 March 2025
Where Innovation Meets Horsepower
While Pieter Steyn, CITO at Luxaviation Group, and his team gear up for the future of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, his passion remains firmly on solid ground – his beloved VW MK7.5 Golf GTI, aptly named ‘Dark Knight’. Whether carving through mountain passes or fine-tuning its performance, this project brings him endless joy.
As CIO South Africa has discovered over the years, South Africa’s IT leaders often have a penchant for DIY projects, but some take it to the next level with car builds and restorations. Pieter Steyn is one such leader, balancing his role in shaping cutting-edge IT solutions with his love for crafting high-performance ‘hot hatches’.
Q: As a CIO, you’re used to solving complex problems in the tech world. How does that mindset translate when you’re building or restoring cars, and do you approach both pursuits similarly?
A: Absolutely. Both tech leadership and car builds require patience, vision, and a real appetite for problem solving. In both worlds, things rarely go exactly as planned. You learn to diagnose issues, map out solutions, and adapt when things change midcourse. You work with technology as well. When you are using tools like an OBD11, you need to know your stuff or you can end up doing real damage. Whether I am tracking down a bug in a legacy system or figuring out why a rebuilt engine is not running quite right, the thinking process is similar. Structured, iterative, and detail focused. But in the garage, I get to use my hands more, and that shift from digital to physical work is both refreshing and grounding.
Q: Can you share details about your latest car build or restoration project? What made this one particularly special or challenging compared to your past projects?
A: My latest project was working on my VW MK7.5 GTI. I did a lot of bodywork repair and painting. I imported Racingline 360 rims from the UK, fitted Racingline titanium exhaust tips, did a muffler delete, and had a custom exhaust built to my specs by VAG Motorsport. I also installed the R600 cold air intake and upgraded both the TCU and ECU to Stage 2. It has been a fun balance between performance and precision. Getting just the right mix of responsiveness and drivability on 95 Octane fuel. The car will still reach 400 HP once the turbo is replaced and the intercooler installed.
What made it special was how much I learnt about tuning, transmission behaviour, and the clamping forces on the DSG gearbox. The performance orientated TCU tune gives it a punchy feel, but you really notice it in low RPM shifts. Every small adjustment taught me something new about how systems talk to each other. Which, funnily enough, is also what I deal with as a CIO.
Q: Do you have a pet name for your car, and how did that name come about? Does it hold any personal significance to you?
A: Yes. She is called Dark Knight. It is funny because the car is white, but I love driving at night. She is quick, agile, and always looks calm, even when moving fast. The name reminds me of presence without noise. There is power in that, whether you are leading a team or cruising a mountain pass.
