mario laguna
If it were a circus, the Motor Show in the German city of Essen would be heralded as the world's greatest show. And I would do it with reason both for its gigantic dimensions and for the variety and content of the different exhibitions that take place.
Because, unlike other European salons renowned for their quality, the Motor Show is not monothematic, but welcomes the different trends and the extensive diversity of the automotive world, whether current or classic, with respect to originality or showing the most crazy variety of possible or imaginable modifications.
The recent Essen Motor Show took place from November 30 to December 8, 2012, thus reaching its XNUMXth edition, displaying its novelties on an area of 110.000 square meters divided into 18 differentiated spaces that received the visit of more than three hundred thousand motor enthusiasts -340.000 according to Siha, its organizer-, whether they were buyers, passionate about specific brands, interested in novelties, collectors or simple regulars of trade shows, dazzled by the wealth and variety of the event.
Immense
The first thing to have to visit the Motor Show is good health and comfortable shoes, due to the great distances to be covered on foot. Since it is impossible to stop at each stand, it is preferable to go with a preconceived idea of which are the objectives of greatest interest for the visitor and to select the visits using the complete and detailed program available at the ticket offices to access the show, which includes an exhaustive list of exhibitors in alphabetical order and the coordinates of their location.
At the Motor Show it is possible to witness from the presentation of prototypes, design studies and concept cars, to live exhibitions of acceleration, driving skills, skidding and braking of vehicles launched at full speed in a covered pavilion, passing through more atmospheres. relaxed and sheltered from noise dedicated to historic cars, private collections or vehicles for sale in luxurious surroundings prepared by the world's most renowned dealers, professionals and intermediaries.
The younger public will enthusiastically attend the wide display of tuning specialists, while lovers of history, documentation, scale models and collectibles will spend pleasant hours hunting for a missing trophy in their display cases. Both will almost always be satisfied at the end of the day.
Cisitalia 202 E and other jewels to highlight
In the chapter on concept cars, an advanced Citroën design study stood out in this edition, which, far from its image as a manufacturer of utility vehicles, surprised with a sports GT capable of receiving a 8 hp V500 for a weight of 1.400 kg.
The Italian firm IED (European Institute of Design of Turin), in collaboration with Cisitalia presented the model 202E, a 2-seater coupe with 19-inch wheels that will be equipped with Pirelli tires and a V8 engine in the front position with rear propulsion and estimated power on 450 hp. The model presented is no more than a full-scale model, which reflects the sophisticated design characteristic of the brand, whose ancestor, also called Cisitalia 202 from 1947, revolutionized the manufacture of post-war sports cars.
The authorship of the project is attributed to Chen Chin-Hsuan of Taiwan, in collaboration with engineers from Pininfarina and Maserati.
The motor history section was dedicated to the World Endurance Championship in its period from 1953 to 1992, with its most illustrious representatives, including a 250 Ferrari 1953 MM ex-fighter of the Carrera Panamericana with the Mexican driver Efraín Ruiz Echeverría, a 512 Ferrari 1970S, a veteran of the 12 hours of Sebring that he met in his history drivers such as Mario Andretti or Nino Vaccarella, a Porsche 917 in the Gulf colors, currently part of the Rofgo collection, as well as a Ford GT40. From the front-engine era, a 300 Mercedes-Benz 1955SLR stood out, which with its 3000 cc and 300 hp engine distinguished itself in the Thousand Miles.
Among the many prestigious cars whose list would be endless to contemplate, we will highlight an extraordinary Delahaye 135MS (by Modifie Speciale) from 1949, with art deco steering wheel and dashboard, bodied by Ghia Aigle, on chassis number 800573, which was presented in the same year at the Geneva Motor Show. The jury of the elegance contest could not avoid awarding this magnificent specimen the Best of Show award.
The stands are carefully presented with all kinds of details and a friendly staff willing to provide complete information to potential buyers or just curious. Lamborghini, McLaren and other prestigious brands do not miss the appointment.
New directions
Curiously, while writing this article for the birth of the new era of «La Escudería», I was reading the last issue in print edition of the weekly Newsweek, published continuously since 1933. To the general astonishment, a publication as important as Newskeek announces its disappearance in a traditional way to become an exclusively electronic publication, henceforth available on the Internet. Are we witnessing the beginning of a new era in which publications of all kinds will be made exclusively on the Internet? With an estimated circulation of about three million copies for the US domestic market and as many for its international version, the lack of sales does not seem to be the cause of Newsweek's reconversion. Does La Escudería anticipate a new style in communication for motor publications?
SHORT VISITOR'S GUIDE |
| WHERE: Messe Essen. Grugapark, City of Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Germany.
HOW TO GET: - By plane, nearest airport, Düsseldorf ORGANIZER: Yesha Prices: individual ticket 16 euros (Motor Show). PARKING LOTS: next to the main entrance, at 8 euros Events in Essen: Motor Show, in December. Techno Classica, in April. |
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Photography | Mario Laguna
Video | behind
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