Paris, France, 27 September, 2002
Plenty To See In Paris
The Paris Salon, the Mondial de l’Automobile, held its Press Days on 26 – 27
September, where the international motoring press gathered to witness the
unveiling of no less than fifty world or European premieres. Some of these were
new models like the Renault Megane II, whilst others were radical concept cars
like the Citroen C-Airdream, and they ranged in size and price from the Smart
Roadster to the latest limited edition Ferrari supercar, the Enzo Ferrari.
This biennial salon is one of the showcase European motor shows for
manufacturers to display their wares, and the 2002 edition did not disappoint
with a large number of new models being shown in public for the first time,
together with the latest editions of established models. The show spanned
seven halls in the Parc des Expositions at the Porte de Versailles, and apart
from new cars it also had a competition hall, a used car vendor area, and an
exhibition of the cars of The Principality of Monaco amongst its many features.
General Motors had a large stand in celebration of 50 Years of the Chevrolet
Corvette and 100 Years of Cadillac, with a late fifties Corvette displayed vertically
with a Corvette photo montage around its base, plus of course an example of the
2003 model. The Citroen C-Airdream concept car features a full glass roof and
fixed a hub steering wheel utilising drive-by-wire controls, in an aerodynamic
package with a Cd figure of 0.28. The Ford Ka went topless with the Streetka, an
open roadster designed by Ghia and co-manufactured by Pininfarina. Bentley
presented their new small model GT car, and the Aston Martin DB7 Zagato made
its European show debut. Next door to Aston Martin, Jaguar presented their new
XJ series saloon with a polished aluminium example (emphasising the new all
aluminium body structure) blinding viewers with the reflected light. Virtually every
manufacturer had something to shout about, whether it was a new concept car, a
new technical innovation or a makeover of the body style.
Ferrari And Maserati
One of the main attractions of the show was the new supercar from Ferrari, the
Enzo Ferrari. Although it has been seen widely in magazine articles and was
presented at the Racing Days meeting at the Nurburgring earlier in the month,
this was the first opportunity for the majority to see it in the ”flesh”.
There were three examples on display, a yellow model on the Pininfarina stand,
with black and red renditions on the Ferrari stand, thus the complete colour
range was presented. The red example on the Ferrari stand was displayed
alongside an F2001 F1 car, both on angled stands to show the crossover in
technology between the two sides of the company’s operations. Throughout the
press days there were throngs of people in, around and all over them, a new
model from Ferrari always attracts a great deal of attention, especially when it is
a limited edition series with a serious price tag. The Enzo certainly has that, as it
is the most expensive road car ever offered by the company. It is also bristling
with ultra modern technology, from the composite ceramic Brembo brake discs,
through the specially developed Bridgestone Potenza REO50 Scuderia tyres, to
the Magnetti Marelli developed six speed F1 gearchange system that is standard
equipment.
The Ferrari hierarchy were out in force, Piero Ferrari was in attendance with his
wife, daughter and grandson, newly appointed CEO of Ferrari Maserati North
America, Maurizio Parlato was also present, together with Sergio Pininfarina, as
was company President Luca di Montezemolo, who hosted a press conference
at lunchtime. The scenes afterwards as the press kits were distributed were
almost beyond belief, as a virtual rugby scrum developed as people tried to get
their hands on one!
On the adjacent Maserati stand both the Coupe and Spyder models were on
display, together with an ex-Le Mans Tipo 151 GT car, and a newcomer to the
family, the racing only Trofeo model. This is based on the 4.2 litre coupe with
Cambiocorsa paddle gearchange system, and will be run in a series of races
during the 2003 season. For the first season the cars will be rented out to drivers
by the factory, who will maintain the cars throughout the season, and transport
them to and from each race. The driver therefore just has to turn up and drive it,
making his logistics very simple! The example displayed reflected the colour
scheme of the nearby Tipo 151, featuring a white body with twin blue stripes, the
United States national racing colours carried by many successful racing
Maseratis in the late fifties and early sixties, particularly on cars entered by
Briggs Cunningham and the Camoradi team. It should make an interesting
addition to the calendar.
Ferrari Stand
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