Why Brenthon Might Be The Weirdest Tuning Company On The Planet

Hyundai and Kia make some pretty good cars, but they also have a bit of an image problem in North America. From the brands’ bargain-basement roots to the infamous Theta II engine recall, there are sentiments about the brands that won’t simply go away, even with the introduction of fast electric cars. So, what if you want a Hyundai or Kia but are a bit too ashamed to rock the badge? Well, a Korean company named Brenthon has found a solution.

While many tuning companies peddle performance modifications or chunky body kits, Brenthon isn’t bothering with any of that. It’s not here to make cars faster or give them more downforce or reupholster their interiors. Instead, it’s pretty much just here to sell badges. Badges that can turn your Hyundai or Kia into a Brenthon.

It’s a bizarre premise, aftermarket badge-engineering, but it has some legs. The new Hyundai Santa Fe is a brilliant family hauler, the closest thing to the original Volvo XC90 you can buy today. It’s the right size, it’s hugely roomy, the hybrid model is amazingly efficient, yet some people just don’t want to be seen driving a Hyundai. For those people, Brenthon sells bits to rebadge Santa Fes as  Brenthon MX5s. Why MX5? Because the chassis code for the current Santa Fe is MX5. Another nerdy little bit of car trivia to keep in your brain.

Or, how about rebadging your previous-generation Palisade as a Brenthon, including a massive wordmark across the liftgate? It’s almost like creating a Grand Theft Auto car in real life. There’s overwhelming familiarity, yet the badges don’t feel real. Like you’re stepping into a parallel universe of sorts.

It’s a similar deal with Brenthon’s EV-specific badges, just with accentuated genericness. A squircle with a strike-through isn’t the most evocative thing on the planet, but given how machines like the Kia EV6 and Niro don’t quite look like anything else on the road, maybe this minimalistic approach works. It’s certainly better than being asked if you drive a “KN”.

My favorite Brenthon badge just says “The New,” which I desperately want to stick on a 1999 Sephia. It’s not advertising speed or prestige, it’s shouting about newness, which immediately becomes hilarious when a model isn’t new anymore. Plus, it turns into a Who’s On First-type bit when you tell your friends you got The New emblem.

Best of all, Brenthon emblems aren’t enormously expensive. You can rebadge an entire Santa Fe for about $120 down to the center caps, which isn’t much money when you think about it. It’s cheaper than getting your windows tinted or your roof wrapped for a splash of contrast. Plus, you can have endless amounts of fun with it. Your neighbors will likely be perplexed or at least mildly confused, and that box for make and model you fill out when you check into a hotel is an opportunity to be a bit cheeky. Plus, could you imagine if something with these badges ends up in a pursuit or something? “Suspect is driving a … Brenthon?”

Brenthon is an exceptionally strange concept, but it’s one worth keeping an eye on. I haven’t seen this level of professionalism applied to aftermarket rebranding before, and who knows? Maybe you’ll spot a Brenthon yourself.

Top graphic image: Brenthon