Autosport International is always a good opportunity for racecar constructors to gather support for would-be championships. and ADR Engineering Ltd took the opportunity to launch the ADR1000 sports car that will be powered by an 1100cc 16V BMW K-Series engine. It's low-budget fun, but it's still slicks-and-wings sports car racing with the rolling chassis costing just $12,500.
They're hardly new, but the 2002 F1 cars proved a hit as fans got closer to them than ever on the imaginatively titled F1 Grid. All of the cars, or close approximations, were there, and McLaren driver David Coulthard took a cheeky opportunity to nose round the Ferrari.
Away from the static displays, Autosport International staged a spectacular gathering in the Live Action Arena. European Rallycross Champion Per Eklund, the only non American to win the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, took control of a specially built 700-bhp Saab and 1984 World Rally Champion Stig Blomqvist drove an Audi S1, the spectacular Group B rally car that destroyed the opposition in the World Rally Championship in the early 1980s.
Legendary Finn Juha Kankkunen demonstrated the Hyundai World Rally Car, and Legends and Stock Cars got their turn as well. This all took place indoors, on a smooth surface with decibels bouncing off the walls.
The show certainly was not short on top names. Formula One drivers Coulthard, Antonio Pizzonia, Cristiano da Matta and Olivier Panis turned out. As did a host of World Rally stars including British former champions Richard Burns and Colin McRae. This, combined with the amount of scantily clad women on display, was enough to keep motorsport fans' jaws firmly on the ground.
Notes from Europe
* Crying Into Its Beer-Things just aren't going well for the Fatherland right now. More used to being Europe's economic powerhouse than its s***house, Germany's limping economy is showing no sign of recovery any time soon. On top of that, it's still far from flavor-of-the-month in Washington, D.C. Oh dear, oh dear.
Nearly 3% fewer cars were sold in Germany in 2002 than in 2001, making it three negative years in a row, and nobody's predicting an end in sight.
The main German manufacturers all had no trouble holding onto the top six slots in the new registrations table-imports are a long long way from threatening the supremacy of home production. Okay, so Ford is at number four, but the US company has been building there so long that most Germans genuinely believe that Ford is a German company. VW was unassailable at number one, followed by Merc and Opel. Audi and BMW fill slots five and six. But it wasn't without the loss of blood. VW sales were down over 5%, while poor old Opel took a battering, losing 16% of its sales volume.
A couple of interesting trends within the figures. Diesel cars are continuing their advance, claiming nearly 38% of the market in 2002, and 4x4s were 10% more popular, although they still make up only 6% of total sales.