The world's most important show for the tuning business, and Europe's most important motor sport exhibition, was held again from Nov 30 - Dec 9, 2001 at Essen in Germany.

Ferrari "Big" in the Showcentre
The so-called "Showcentre" is an important part of the Essen Motor Show that usually combines special exhibitions of cars, design studies etc. belonging to certain themes. In 2001, the major theme was "The Cars of the Sports Car World Championship".

Ferrari has always been a great and important name in sports car racing, and thus the number of Ferraris on display was quite high: seven had been brought to the exhibition. Jean Sage's impressive 375 MM Berlinetta Pinin Farina from 1953 was the earliest car on show, followed by the fully rebuilt 857 S Spider Scaglietti; this car dates from 1956 and is currently owned by British dealer David Clark of Taylor & Crawley.

Unfortunately the organizers could not persuade any owners of one of the desirable 250 Testa Rossa Spider Scaglietti to loan a car to the show - instead the 1958 season was represented by a nicely done replica of a 250 TR, based on a 250 GTE . Bernie Carl showed his Dino 268 SP Spider Fantuzzi from 1961, and David Piper displayed his second 330 P Spider Fantuzzi Rebuild using the s/n 0824. This totally rebuilt car sports the livery which it wore when Swiss driver Tommy Spychiger was killed in it in 1964: red with a white band. The last Ferrari on display dated from 1972, a 312 PB, which was loaned by Uwe Meißner of Modena Motorsport.

The display of various design studies included one Ferrari, although in total disguise. The Sbarro Christelle, which was shown for the first time at the 2001 Geneva Motor Show, is based on a Mondial t Cabriolet and was rebodied in a strange, futuristic look by Franco Sbarro on behalf of a Swiss customer.

Ferrari Tuning
The tuning industry always keeps an eye on the latest products from Maranello. At the Essen Show, one could see various modified Ferraris

DigiTec is a renowned company for chip tuning, offering their products for various tipos like 348 and 355. Up to now, they do not offer a new chipset for the 360 but already offer some custom wheels in the look of the (non road legal) BBS wheels used on the 360 Challenge cars.

Hamann Motorsport are mainly known for their spectacular BMW-based conversions. Since a couple of years, the company offers a Ferrari programme as well. It includes sports-exhaust, distance spacers, rear wings, skirts and spoilers, plus 18'' and 19'' wheels and other equipment. At the Show, Hamann displayed their interpretation of the 360 Spider.

Two other companies showed their 19'' custom wheels for the 360 .Both Inden-Design and MAE Autodesign offer spectacular chromed wheels which should hit especially the American taste on the spot.

SKN-Chiptech displayed a totally stock 360 Spider, but their tuning programme includes modifications for any 360 resulting in an increased rev-range.

Interesting Ferraris on Sale
At least one hall of the Essen Show is always dedicated to the classic and collectors car trade. In 2001, some interesting Ferrari were on show there - and for sale.

The largest gathering of sports cars made in Maranello was on the stand of Mr. Huberti, a dealer from Düsseldorf. He had been entrusted with the sale of a number of cars by Uwe Meißner's Modena Motorsport. Oldest Ferrari was the dark blue 250 GT Coupé Pininfarina, totally restored in the early 1990's. Also very nice was a red/black 275 GTS formerly owned by the well-known French Ferrari historian Antoine Prunet. The 330 GTC there had recently been restored by Dutch specialist Piet Roelofs, and the 365 GT 2+2 is for sure one of the best examples of its type in Europe after a "regardless-of-cost-restoration". The car looked very nice in light metallic blue with covered headlights.

Coys of Kensington displayed a 250 GT SWB Berlinetta . The car was unearthed after decades of slumber in the shed of a man living in Alsace in 1993 or 1994 - at that time, it became obvious that Lord Brocket in the UK had a replica produced using the same serial number… It was sold to a German enthusiast and totally restored by Piet Roelofs. The German owner later had it auctioned by Coys who sold it to a London based collector, who now offers s/n 3565GT for sale through Coys again.

A Cobra specialist displayed Bernd Cohnen's 365 GTB/4 Daytona Competition Conversion - the car was somehow supplied with the 440 hp high-output engine when new (or received a "period" upgrade) and was brought to Competition specifications in recent years during a restoration by Piet Roelofs. Although this car is not suitable for events like the Shell Historic Challenge or the Tour Auto, it is for sure the ultimate fun machine in events like the Tour d'Espana.

The only other classic Ferrari in Essen was a black Dino 246 GT which was for sale on consignment from its German owner at the stand of Top Cars of Essen. Top Cars also had a 308 GTB fibreglass on sale which had been slightly modified; color-coded bumpers, a light blue dashboard, a light blue steering wheel and light blue seats with cloth inserts were not standard… The car was claimed to have been owned by the royal family of Qatar.

Sachs and BBS had Ferrari Formula One cars on display, the one of BBS apparently being a mock-up without mechanical components. Another real crowd-drawer was the F50 displayed by dealer Weiland of Remagen/Germany.

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