When we visited Essen Motor Show for the first time, the wife named the Show “The Kra-Boom Show”. Heavy sounds, blinking lights, young men fitting the target audience and girls more or less dressed at the booths – that’s the common impression you get when visiting the Essen Motor Show.
This year we used our media access to the show and took a walk through the 12 halls in Essen on the Media Day. Gosh, what a difference! One felt like visiting Techno Classica. Only a few exhibitors had their subwoofer rolls already running and the girls where something like warming up, the professional audiences was replaced by people like me – the idea for the next edition is to visit Essen Motor Show twice –one time to look at the displays unhurriedly and the second time to get the real Essen Motor Show ambience-.
Ferrari-wise it was more or less disappointing. Most favored car for tuning shops this year was the Audi R8 that could be seen in all variations and colours. No pimped Prancing Horse was on display and in total only ten cars born in Maranello appeared.
Nick Mason contributed the most interesting cars, both on the special display “Sportwagen-Weltmeisterschaft” in Hall 3. Mason 512 S, #1026, was present. This car, that was featured in the movie 'Le Mans' was destroyed and recreated as a Spider for Nick Mason. An additional 'Coda Lunga' tail is with the car although the short tail version was on display. #0352MM, a 1953 250 MM PF Berlinetta was renumbered #0239EU when the remains of 212 Europa Vignale Coupe #0239EU where traded for the new 250 MM PF Berlinetta #0352MM after its accident in the 1952 Carrera Panamericana.
The other Ferraris on display have been street cars from different periods, starting with a 250 GTE from 1961. This car is supposed to be #2773GT and was for sale earlier this year by Geneva-based dealer Carugati Automobiles (salut, Fabrizio!). Official dealer, Helmut Eberlein provided car care dealer Meguiar's with #11229, a 365 GT 2+2 in Oro Chiaro. The round-up of the historic cars was the US 246 GT Dino # 03214, offered by Potomac.
The “Young Ones” were represented by an actual Italia Spider and a California from 2009. A Testarossa, a 2002 Modena F1 and one of the Bleekemolens Race Planet-cars, F430 #148217 complemented the field.
Now comes the time that is felt to be the longest time-out of events every year, but, to be honest, it is only a month until Maastricht’s Interclassics-Topmobiel opening on January 11th, 2013.