April was actually a pretty normal month, which nevertheless once again turned into a lot of work on the database and archive. The "normal"? 1,509 newly produced car as new entries in the database, which catapulted the serial number range into the 325,000 range. Added to that are four new 499 P Modicicati that have been identified, plus the new gang of 296 GT3s, a total of 35 in April. Furthermore, because our attentive user Daniel found a car—it was a Mondial—whose number simply didn't appear in F-Register, we took the opportunity to go through the entire database again and actually found a few more and added them. Work completed! Thanks, Daniel!
This weekend, rumour has it, the factory in Miami will be unveiling a new model for the Grand Prix. Are we excited? Not really. Why not? Well, because we've been carrying the potential candidates around for some time now, something the interested researchers of the incredible database have surely already noticed. Our favourite is the "Versione Speciale" of the 296, which we currently know as codename F171. Whether the cut version would be included directly remains to be seen, of course. We don't think Miami would be the right place to present the F250, which is said to be the first electric-powered Ferrari. That leaves the Roma successor (F169 M) and the SF90 successor (F173 M) as candidates.
Say goodbye? Pathetic, but, of course! We're saying goodbye to the collaboration between Messe Essen and SIHA in their shared responsibility for what claims to be the world's largest classic car show, although the term hasn't been used in that sense recently. Nevertheless, the Techno Classica was the place where many of us first saw Ferraris up close (please do not touch!!!), and where models we had only read about were exhibited. Well, it seems they've grown apart. The 35th edition was also the last – at least in Essen, as we hear. Rumour has it that SIHA is moving 30 kilometres away to Düsseldorf, and Retro Messen GmbH, known for the Retro Classics in Stuttgart, will take over the Techno Classica's previous slot in Essen from April 8th to 12th next year. We're excited to see how this develops.
First of all, though, we must say that the 35th Techno Classica has reconciled us somewhat with the event. In recent years, there has been a clear trend that the event had lost some of its momentum. The Messe building was undergoing a lengthy restructuring process, well-known exhibitors stayed away, the auctions, which incidentally were apparently not all that popular with dealers, were cancelled, the pandemic had to be overcome, and by last year at the latest, it was clear from the empty spaces that the trend was no longer in favour of Techno Classica. Meanwhile, Paris and Bologna have also overtaken Essen. Whether the 35th Techno Classica was a last gasp or a fireworks display in preparation for the new year, we'll see. In any case, Hall 3 was interesting this year. A "new player" emerged in the form of the Import Car Group from the Czech Republic. We knew from our network that one or two classic Ferraris were located in Brno, but hadn't been able to identify any dealers until then. It was also interesting that Munsterhuis "took over" the stand we previously knew from our friend Helmut Eberlein. This is only half the truth, since Helmut was concentrating on presenting the restoration art of his company in Kassel with the help of 2137GT, and that only works as a solitary stand, right?
Now it's time to head outside again, right? Spa is on the agenda a few times, the Ring, and, let's see, they'll probably venture back to Classic Days in the appropriate setting. We're excited.
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F-Register team