11/14/2018

The Classic & Prestige Salon at the Essen Motor Show 2018

Pure Automobile Passion

  • The Classic & Prestige Salon: One of the four supporting pillars of the Essen Motor Show from December 1 to 9, 2018
    (Preview Day: Friday, November 30)
  • Crowning Conclusion to the Connoisseurs' Vehicle Season in 2018
  • Show Subject: Super Sports Cars
  • Over 250 Select Classic Automobiles and Sports and Racing Vehicles in the Ranges Offered by Internationally Renowned Dealers at the Oldest Sales Salon in Germany

For the first time, the 37th Classic & Prestige Salon at the Essen Motor Show will occupy two of the largest halls. Thus, all the subjects relating to everything to do with classic vehicles will be bundled on over 17,000 square metres.

This will be made possible by Messe Essen's conversion into one of the technically most modern fair sites in Germany: In addition to the prestigious Hall 1, the 37th Classic & Prestige Salon will also occupy the complete Hall 2 for the first time. During the performance festival in Essen, Messe Essen will thus document the high status of the classic vehicle fair at the conclusion to the season - and will permit a relaunch of the attractive classic vehicle fair: All the 120 exhibitors which will be dedicated to the subjects of classic automobiles and connoisseurs' vehicles will now be concentrated in a coherent classic vehicle salon. Here, people interested in classic vehicles will find the quintessence of the international range available from the fields of vintage vehicles, young classic vehicles, historic motorsports as well as classic & prestige automobiles.

For the 37th time, S.I.H.A is organising the Classic & Prestige Salon within the framework of the Essen Motor Show. Since the premiere, the oldest sales salon in Germany has developed into a performance show on the classic vehicle scene and an attractive trading place for classic vehicles on the highest level. More than 250 vintage vehicles, classic collectors' and prestige automobiles and young classic vehicles will be presented to the 350,000 visitors expected. In addition, connoisseurs of classic vehicles will find everything that belongs to their hobby: accessories, services, tools, literature, model cars, art, automobilia and club presentations.

In order to give the renowned international classic vehicle dealers exhibiting at the Classic & Prestige Salon an additional incentive to present only the best of the best from their available ranges in Essen, there will, as is tradition, once again be a Concours d’Elégance this year too. A jury consisting of internationally esteemed classic vehicle experts will choose the most beautiful, best-restored and most elegant classic vehicle from the range offered by the dealers as the "Best of Show".

The main attractions at the Classic & Prestige Salon will once again be the special shows organised by S.I.H.A. A large presentation of exclusive super sports cars from the last six decades will fascinate the visitors to Hall 1. They will include:

  • The Aston Martin DB2: Presented to the public in 1950, the DB2 is the first genuine British super sports car in spite of its 105 bhp (in the Vantage version: 125 bhp) which seems modest today - the first vehicles built in series went to the starting line in Le Mans in 1950 and took first and second places in their class. 411 vehicles had been constructed by 1953 and around 102 of these were convertibles. With its top speed of 200 km/h, it was one of the quickest road-going sports car of its time and achieved numerous racing successes.
  • The Mercedes-Benz 300 SL with gull-wing doors. In 1954, it was the first German super sports car in the post-war era to be presented to the public in New York. At that time, top-class saloons such as an Opel Kapitän had top speeds of just 140 km/h. The 300 SL managed 240 km/h. At that time, it thus appeared to be something from another planet - also because of its gull-wing doors.
  • From 1966 to 1975, the Lamborghini Miura was built in various versions with mid-mounted V12 engines. In the basic version with 350 bhp, it had a top speed of 275 km/h and accelerated up to 100 km/h in 6.7 seconds.
  • The Maserati MC 12 is also driven by a mid-mounted V12 engine. From a capacity of six litres, this supplies 632 bhp which catapults it up to a top speed of 345 km/h. 50 vehicles were fabricated from 2004 to 2005.
  • The Gumpert Apollo handmade in Altenburg/Thuringia from 2005 to 2013 has a top speed of 360 km/h. With its 700 bhp, 4.2-litre V8 engine, the Apollo Speed shown in the Classic & Prestige Salon set a lap record for road-going cars on the North Loop of the Nürburgring in 2009 with a time of seven minutes, eleven seconds and 57 hundredths.
  • The Spyker C8 Laviolette GT2R secured fifth place in its class at the 24-hour race in Le Mans in 2009. Its road-going version was built just 24 times in 2008 and manages a proud top speed of 300 km/h with a 4.2-litre Audi V8 engine with 400 bhp.
  • The second super sports car from the Netherlands is the Spyker C12 Zagato. Only 24 vehicles were built in 2008 too. Its 500 bhp, W12 engine catapults the aluminium sports car up to 100 km/h in just 3.8 seconds and then even further up to 310 km/h.
  • The Porsche 918 Spyder, built as a hybrid sports car with a mid-mounted engine in a limited edition of 918 vehicles from 2013 to 2015, makes a system power of 893 bhp available to its driver - 608 bhp from a V8 internal combustion engine and 285 bhp from two electric motors.
  • Koenigsegg sports cars have been built in Sweden since 1994. The Koenigsegg Agera RS presented in Essen was limited to 25 vehicles and was sold out immediately. With its 1,175 bhp, mid-mounted five-litre V8 engine, it is the quickest road-going car at the moment: In 2017, it achieved a top speed of almost 460 km/h - however, on a closed-off road.

The Classic & Prestige Salon will present another special show in Hall 2. There, it will be possible to see spectacular car stars which played leading roles in films. These will include the DeLorean from the "Back to the Future" film trilogy from 1985. With its "flux compensator", it could even travel through time, at least in the film. An enthusiast from Heinsberg has built a faithful-to-the-original replica of this car on the basis of a series DeLorean DMC 12.

In Hall 2, visitors will be able to admire no fewer than two cars such as were driven through the dinosaur park in the "Jurassic Park" film from 1993. These will be a Jeep Wrangler in a special Jurassic Park outfit as well as a Ford Explorer - they actually do seem to come from a different world.
Another film car to arouse the enthusiasm of the visitors will be K.I.T.T. from the US television series called "Knight Rider". It is a modified, black Pontiac Firebird Trans Am which, in the film, can think, speak and drive itself.

The green Opel Manta originates from the Dutch television series called "New Kids" which ran from 2007 to 2012 and could also be seen in the German version transmitted by the "Comedy Central" channel from 2010.

Finally, "Ecto 1" from the "Ghostbusters" film which was reconstructed in a form faithful to the original on the basis of a Cadillac Miller-Meteor from 1959 with 316 bhp will impress the visitors with a length of over six metres.

Thus, the Classic & Prestige Salon at Europe's largest annual automobile fair will be a fascinating finale to the season and, more than ever, an absolutely obligatory date not only for experienced classic vehicle connoisseurs but also for young novices.

Further information at:

www.siha.de
www.essen-motorshow.de