[nyarlathotep_]

> What was the point of doing this prior to selling a subscription to unlock it?

There are/were legitimate considerations for this too--I've had a few GTIs that ended up 'tuned.'

Typical failures on tuned cars, past a certain power, level were clutches (both in MT and DSG models) and probably other ancillary components.

I'm sure there's also lifespan calculations for components at the stock power levels too. Probably a shorter lifespan/the projected failure rates only account for the stock output etc etc.