With the Essen Motor Show and the “Previewday”, Europe’s largest racing and tuning trade fair (December 2nd – 11th) opens its doors on Friday. The Automobile Club of Germany will be represented with two booths. The appearance in Hall 8 under the motto “pit lane” is dedicated to motorsport. As the sporty organizer of the DTM, the AvD is exhibiting an Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO II from the Attempo Racing team from Langenhagen near Hanover. In Essen, too, the 585 hp Audi will sport the eye-catching football look of the season finale in Hockenheim. In addition, a competition vehicle from this year’s BMW M2 Cup will also be on display, which will also be part of the DTM.
The third exhibit in the AvD “pit lane” is an early example of the BMW 3.0 CSL of the E9 series, which caused a sensation in touring car racing in the 1970s. With the exhibited vehicle from 1972, touring car legend Prince Leopold of Bavaria contested a number of races in the context of historic motorsport events in the past two seasons. The BMW drove with a new kind of bio-fuel, which in the tank-to-wheel analysis undercuts the CO2 emissions of conventional fuels by 22 percent. Prince Leopold has announced his visit to the stand for the so-called preview day on December 2nd.
The second stand of the automobile club is located in the central Hall 1. The visual attraction will be an Opel Blitz from 1959, which is designed in the style of a contemporary racing service transporter. The classic Ford Tournament 20 M of the AvD from 1970 in the classic design of the so-called traffic assistance service complements the picture. The two-door station wagon with roof sign and yellow all-round light is a regular guest at classic events. A Chevrolet GT V8 Special racing car from 1957, which was built according to the regulations of Formula Libra, and a Ford FK 3500 as a tow truck, built in 1954, round off the vehicle quartet.
In addition, classic car owners will receive a lot of information about the starting requirements and the procedure of the Monte Carlo Historique Rally, which will start in January 2023 for the 25th time. True to the original, the historic “Monte” begins with a rally from various European cities to the Côte d’Azur. The Hessian spa town of Bad Homburg serves as the German starting point. (awm)