Tuning, sport and classic cars: Essen Motor Show has begun

Fairs - Tuning, sport and classic cars: Essen Motor Show has begun

Expensive sports cars, classic cars to dream about and "tuning cars" lovingly rebuilt down to the last screw - the"Essen Motor Show" tuning and classic car fair began in Essen on Friday. Around 500 exhibitors are registered with well over 1000 vehicles, some of which are extremely expensive and rare, as well as accessories, said a trade fair spokesperson. One of the most expensive individual vehicles is an Aston Martin sports car costing around five million euros. After the "Preview Day" on Friday, the trade fair will be open from December 2 to 12.

The focus is on tuned cars and expensive accessories - such as powerful sports cars like a Brabus Porsche with 900 hp and a top speed of 340 kilometers per hour, but increasingly also tuned and highly motorized electric cars like a 534 hp Tesla, which can almost be lowered to road level when stationary thanks to its air suspension and whose door handles extend electrically and light up colorfully.

Tuning is not just a passion for car fans, but also a million-dollar business. The German Association of Automotive Tuners (VDAT) puts the annual turnover of its 120 members on the German market at around 780 million euros. According to VDAT Managing Director Harald Schmidtke, optical and chassis tuning with raised or lowered alloy wheels, add-on parts or vehicle wrapping are the main trends.

The police presented a tuned VW at the trade fair under the motto "Tune it! Safe!", the police presented a tuned VW ID-Buzz electric bus with 204 hp. As a campaign vehicle, the bus is intended to promote the use of only tested and approved parts for tuning at events.

Among the 150 or so tuning vehicles on display are conversions for the small purse costing around €10,000 and large-scale projects costing around half a million in pure conversion costs, said Sven Schulze, organizer of the trade fair's tuning department, TuningXperience. "The 1000 hp limit is technically no problem at all."

In two halls, the organizers will also be showing classic cars and historic show cars, many of which will also be for sale. Classic cars sometimes fetch high sums in the millions. Buyers with average budgets are increasingly turning to former run-of-the-mill cars from the 1980s and 1990s, said Frank Wilke, Managing Director of classic car specialist Classic-analytics. For example, a first-generation Golf GTI, which was launched in 1976, can fetch more than 30,000 euros today.

Trade fair