2023 Author: Eric Donovan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 15:44
The Essen Motor Show is growing new competition just around the corner. The tuning fair “My Car” is very much geared towards the private hobbyist, but also shows one or the other expensive beauty.
By Silke Koppers
For the first time the tuning fair "My Car" has opened its doors in the Dortmund Westfalenhallen. Just two weeks before the old "Essen Motor Show", the newcomer wants to show what a refined rake is. The organizers have focused on what many finishers in Essen are now missing: tuning close to the audience. This also means that some dedicated private screwdrivers can show what they have created in the garage at home. And so it is not surprising that there are only two automobile manufacturers among the around 200 exhibitors: BMW and Skoda.
Well represented tire manufacturers
While the Munich-based company is mostly showcasing its "Efficient Dynamic" fuel-saving options at its almost small stand, the Czech VW brand trumps with its Fabia RS as a sedan and station wagon. For all motorsport fans among the trade fair visitors, there is also the Fabia S2000, the winning car of the 2010 German Rally Championship by Matthias Kahle and Peter Göbel, at the Skoda stand, which does not look as modest as that of BMW.
The tire manufacturers are better represented. In Dortmund, Goodyear Dunlop, Uniroyal, Toyo and Yokohama will show which tires are best suited for which car. The matching rims can be found at Borbet or AZEV, for example. The experts at the Bilstein stand will provide information about the right dampers. In the area of lighting, Osram took the opportunity to secure a place at the trade fair - there is no trace of Hella & Co. Nevertheless, there is no shortage of suppliers in all areas of car tuning.
100 extraordinary racing cars
You can also see super sports cars such as the 420 kW / 571 PS strong Mercedes SLS AMG or the Porsche 911 GT2 RS with 456 kW / 620 PS, limited to 500 units worldwide. Both factory models competed in the high-speed campaign "0-300-0" organized by "Sport Auto" magazine and tire manufacturer Dunlop. The acceleration values from zero to 100 km / h, from zero to 200 km / h and from zero to 300 km / h, as well as the deceleration time from 300 to zero km / h, were measured for eight production sports cars and eight tuning cars. Incidentally, the works Porsche won the brake test with 6.6 seconds. Videos of the measurements in the high-speed oval in Papenburg can be seen at the Dortmund trade fair.
Since the garage season begins for tuning fans in winter, the possibilities and benefits of working from home are the most interesting for most "My Car" visitors. That is also the reason why the fair gathers the 100 most extraordinary scene cars of the end of the tuning year in one hall. The creators of these mobiles are also on site and available for an exchange of views with the interested public.
Those who drive slowly will be seen longer
At the same time, the customized cars take part in the "Uniroyal European Tuning Showdown", which is endowed with prize money of 10,000 euros and in which the ten best rolling works of art are selected. When it comes to vehicles, it's not about sportiness or speed, but about the overall design. This means that even those mobiles have a good chance that, due to their lowering, can hardly drive fast. Behind this is a very unique philosophy, as the refiner and converter of a VW Lupo into a "White Wolf" explains with a fitting sentence: "If you drive slowly, you will be seen longer."
Exactly that is extensively possible at a fair with standing objects. In the case of "My Car", the five halls with 30,000 square meters of exhibition space are open daily from 10 am to 6 pm, and on Sundays from 12 pm to 6 pm. The day ticket costs twelve euros, with a reduced price of ten euros. The price for the two-day ticket for adults is 22 euros, the family ticket for two adults and two children between the ages of six and 14 is 28 euros.
To be continued next year
By the way, behind the new tuning fair there is no newcomer, but an old hand: the organizer is Messe Friedrichshafen, which has been successfully hosting the "Tuning World Bodensee" exhibition since 2003. And it can be assumed that the trade fair premiere in Dortmund will also be well received.
"We would be quite satisfied with 80,000 visitors," says Klaus Wellmann, Managing Director of Messe Friedrichshafen, describing the hope and expectations. But even if it should be less, "My Car" will also take place in 2011, again in Dortmund and again two weeks before the "Essen Motor Show". That is already certain. (mid)
