As I sit at house in London and ponder the 2024 Essen Motor Present (EMS), I can not assist however really feel somewhat overwhelmed.

There are three causes for that. First, regardless of spending three full days at Messe Essen, I nonetheless really feel like I missed a number of the automobiles on show. Second, whereas I used to be in Germany, I coated greater than 1,300 kilometers, rushing throughout the nation. However the third cause is essentially the most private.

The tip of EMS is the method of my sixth yr as a Speedhunter – the dream job I unintentionally fell into. There isn’t any want for champagne but; I am going to save that for an additional time.

Let’s get again to enterprise: eight halls full of the wildest, most outrageous, newest, oldest and quickest machines Europe has to supply.

Now in its 56th yr, the Essen Motor Present was based in 1968 by 25-year-old automotive fanatic Wolfgang Schöller because the ‘Worldwide Sports activities and Racing Automobile Exhibition Essen’. Very like the SEMA present, what started as a humble affair grew into the large occasion we all know in the present day.

By the Nineteen Seventies the occasion was rebranded because the ‘Essen Motor Present’ with a shift in focus from motorsport to a wider celebration that included the aftermarket and tuning trade. A fast stroll by way of the halls is all it takes to see that that is nonetheless the case in the present day, with modified automobiles and aftermarket elements in all places you look.

A number of Touring and GT4 automobiles instantly caught my consideration, particularly the Risse/Ship Motorsport Opel Kadett Coupé GT/E. Opel has a wealthy motorsport heritage throughout Europe, however within the UK its Vauxhall namesake is not fairly as properly regarded. Opel’s motorsport historical past is way extra spectacular than most individuals notice, and I might like to delve into it sooner or later.

John Cleland is a British Touring Automobile Championship legend, however to see his identify on this South African Astra GSi Tremendous Tourer exhibits Opel’s racing pedigree goes far past Vauxhall and the BTCC.

On my first and solely different go to to EMS in 2019, a number of electrical autos have been on show, however nothing just like the variety of EVs current this yr. Sure, the doorway to the present nonetheless has racing automobiles and smaller tuners, however the first automotive I noticed in Corridor 7 was a modified Volvo EX30.

As anticipated at a German present, EMS had a number of German tuners. AC Schnitzer, a model very near my coronary heart, showcased not solely their four-wheeled choices, but additionally a lovely two-wheeled BMW Motorrad creation. Down the corridor, Eisenmann Exhaust Techniques displayed a G80 M3 on F1-inspired wheels, a really love-it-or-hate alternative judging by the reactions of the gang.

Bilstein had World Rally Championship legend Walter Röhrl on its stand, the place he signed autographs and posed for images subsequent to a BMW M4 and a rally-spec G-body Porsche 911. Nevertheless, it was a lovely 2.7-liter E21 BMW on the Dbilas Dynamics stand that caught my consideration.

Dbilas is thought for making among the finest consumption manifolds, throttle our bodies and carburetor setups – and after I was planning a excessive energy BMW M30 engine construct, their ITBs have been the one possibility I thought-about.

It’s not possible to speak about EMS with out mentioning Jean-Pierre (JP) Kraemer and his crew from JP Efficiency. The German tuning scene is infamous for breaking in because of the strict TÜV requirements and the excessive price of acquiring elements approval.

What it does imply, although, is that if somebody is brazen sufficient to construct the outrageous automobiles that German authorities hate, they’re more likely to achieve notoriety within the trade. And JP’s daring, boundary-pushing construct earned him a well-deserved spot on the high.

Vlad beforehand went into element about JP’s empire, and his success is obvious with two back-to-back stands at EMS 2024 with three outrageous builds. JP’s newest creations are a V12 swapped Mercedes-Benz SLC and the ‘Volto’ – a Volvo 850 with an area body chassis and electrical drivetrain.

At Shelby American, my favourite of the ‘OEM’ cubicles, they displayed the brand new GT500 and the huge Shelby Raptor. Though I could also be barely biased in my desire right here…

There was one thing for everybody at EMS 2024 – from stay and aggressive sim racing periods to RC driving exhibits and actual driving demos. You may simply empty your checking account, whether or not you are searching for memorabilia or a fur coat (sure, oddly sufficient, that they had a stand for that too).

I needed to cease myself from shopping for a real poster of a BMW M3 GTR Strassenversion as a result of costs at exhibits are usually outrageously excessive, and I might by no means have forgiven myself. Simply as I might by no means have forgiven myself for forgetting to incorporate the E36 BMW stand, which featured some unimaginable, one-of-a-kind examples.

The Tuning Expertise corridor was full of so many show-and-shine automobiles that I am engaged on a separate characteristic for them. I additionally had tales deliberate on some DTM legends and a unusual European racing sequence that caught my eye. There’s rather a lot to look ahead to, I promise.

For now, although, I am going to depart you with my star of the present – or ought to I say, mine three-pointed star of the present?

The Koenig Specials R107 Mercedes-Benz SL in metallic black/blue with gold detailing and a white leather-based inside was as lovely because it was outrageous. Koenig Specials automobiles will all the time maintain a particular place in my coronary heart – not only for their outlandish seems to be, however for his or her easy demeanor.

I’ve mentioned it earlier than, and I am going to say it once more: easy automobiles are sometimes the perfect. However when one thing this wild comes alongside, it is not possible to not smile.

The 2024 Essen Motor Present 2024 was improbable, if a bit overwhelming. However for those who get the possibility to attend, I undoubtedly suggest it. The present is actually nice – and it is not simply my nostalgia speaking.