German police crack down on illegal street car tuning as season begins

Enthusiasts gathering on Good Friday - renamed Carfreitag - face curbs on unauthorised tuning, illegal races and pollution

Police in Germany have announced a crackdown on illegal racing and the unauthorised modification of cars as members of the so-called tuning scene meet across the country for the start of their annual season.

The Good Friday holiday marking Christ's death on the cross, called Karfreitag in German - from the Old High German word kara, meaning sorrow - is otherwise known by the extreme car enthusiasts as Carfreitag (car Friday) for its unofficial gathering of the tuners" and car posers".