Over. Finished. Gone. The Essen Motor Show 2023 is already history. For all those who did not make it to Essen from December 1 to December 10, 2023, we will take a brief look back at our appearance here again.

In their final report, the organizers say that around 500 exhibitors ensured full halls and happy faces. Including the so-called preview day on December 1, 2023, according to Messe Essen, over 200,000 visitors strolled around the exhibition grounds. Nice.

Evidently, our brand world in Hall 3 attracted a significant number of visitors, as our sales colleagues informed us. Contrary to a social media post dubbing the Essen Motor Show as the ‘Essen Fashion Show,’ there was no validity to such claims. Our sales team is exceedingly content with the turnout.

We offer clothing and merchandise related to our brands such as BBS, KW suspensions, ST suspensions, ap Sportfahrwerke, and others as well. However, at the Essen Motor Show, it was more about attracting enthusiasts of sporty suspensions to our booth. After all, the End of Season Sale applied there as well!

Just like in previous years, there was plenty to see – not only at our KW suspensions booth. Although the Lamborghini SC63 with our new generation of KW Solid Piston dampers also made it into the headlines of the tabloid press – we had even more new products on offer.

The new Lamborghini SC63 will have its first race on March 2nd, 2024, at the opening race of the FIA World Endurance Championship in Qatar. Meanwhile, one of the Lamborghini LMDh race cars is already in the spotlight of the motorsports media due to its public testing in Daytona, USA.

Andrea Caldarelli set the fastest lap time of 1:35.027 minutes in Florida, catching the attention of the other LMDh teams. You can read all about us as the official technical partner of Lamborghini Squadra Corse, the motorsport division of Lamborghini, on our KW automotive blog.

It’s widely known that KW suspension technology, found in our diverse coilover systems like the KW V3, KW V4, KW V5, or KW DDC, is extensively employed in numerous vehicles by both car manufacturers and the tuning industry.

However, neither our KW specialist dealers nor we sell any of these Audi, BMW, Brabus, Ford, Manthey, Mini, Novitec, Rimac, Ruf, and Co. coilover suspension kits.

These suspension products are solely available through the dedicated Special-OE customer associated with the KW automotive Group.

Likewise, the complete support process, encompassing vehicle documentation registration, ordering, and installation of the ‘Gepfeffert.com made by KW‘ coilover suspension kits, is overseen via the Gepfeffert.com network or directly through Gepfeffert.com.

Depending on the Special-OE customer, our customized suspension applications are based on either our Street Comfort, Street Performance, or Track Performance developments.

Among the KW highlights at the Essen Motor Show was the introduction of the KW V1 coilover suspension kit, now available for all variants of Tesla Model 3 and Tesla Model Y, regardless of whether they have all-wheel drive or rear-wheel drive. Additionally, the KW DDC plug & play coilover suspension kit is soon available for all Porsche 911 models of the 991 series.

At the Essen Motor Show, we showcased our latest innovation, the KW HLS Evolution. Its new features include a significantly more compact pump unit and Kevlar lines equipped with quick-release connectors.

What’s new at ST suspensions? Numerous small enhancements that demonstrate our ability to offer the appropriate components for every budget and every (tuning) project, across all ST suspension systems and ST wheel spacers.

Since the end of 2020, the ST XTA plus 3 coilover suspension kit with its adjustable dampers in the low-speed and high-speed compression stage as well as low-speed rebound stage has been available for selected vehicles. In this time, it has become an increasingly attractive alternative to many other suspension kits.

At the Essen Motor Show, we presented the three-way adjustable ST XTA plus 3 coilover suspension in a limited “Baggsy Special Edition”.

For the time being, the ‘Baggsy’ Edition is only available in limited quantities. If you’re interested in owning your own ST X, ST XA, ST XTA, or ST XTA plus 3 coilover suspension kit, or your own ST coil springs with individual spring marking and spring coating, you don’t need to place a special order for an ST suspension.

Thanks to “ST Make it Yours”, everyone can choose one of 18 RAL colors for the main springs when ordering their ST coil springs or ST coilover suspension directly from a specialist dealer or on our ST suspensions website. In addition, the springs can also be ordered with an individual marking.

At ap Sportfahrwerke, our colleagues brought out the big guns with cool customer vehicles. With a Group H body kit, classic BBS Motorsport wheels, and an ap coilover suspension, the GTI was a real head-turner.

If you are overwhelmed by the search for a coilover suspension kit, sports suspension sets, or a set of springs, you can always turn to our ap Sportfahrwerke offers for everyday vehicles.

In terms of price-performance ratio and quality, ap is unbeatable and if you still don’t know if you want to buy an ap coilover suspension, for example for your VW Golf 8, you can simply click on the upper image of the ap coilover suspensions. There we explain a little bit about the tech of ap Sportfahrwerke.

Of course, we couldn’t resist exhibiting a BMW M2 at the Essen Motor Show 2023. The “Versus Performance Pistensau” (Race Pig), dubbed by AutoBild Sportscars (No. 12/2023), was part of the “M2 Army” at the fair. You got the feeling that every third booth at the Essen Motor Show showcased an BMW M2 too.

While the M2 was somewhat of an exception at the SEMA Show 2023 in the USA, the BMW M2 was prominently displayed at numerous Essen Motor Show booths. This was particularly gratifying for us, given the availability of our KW Clubsport suspensions, now also adaptable for the G87 with ‘upside-down MacPherson struts’.

BBS has launched the BBS CH-R II Unlimited alloy wheels, previously teased in our trade show preview. In essence, these two-piece wheels, adorned with stars in five different colors and available in two finishes, can be directly ordered from BBS or through specialist retailers. Moreover, the rim beds come in two colors and finishes as well.

It’s worth noting that the BBS CH-R II Unlimited wheels are fully compatible with all BBS Unlimited accessories, including wheel locks, titanium bolts, valve caps, 3D rotating hub caps, and more.

The new BBS CC-R Unlimited alloy wheel is available in three solid colors and two bi-color variations. For the first time, this wheel is offered in a 22-inch size. Find more information on our BBS homepage www.bbs.com

Our BBS Unlimited wheel system continues to grow in interest due to its versatility. All BBS Unlimited wheels are produced with a 5 x 117.5 bolt pattern and come in a range of sizes, widths (from 8 to 12 inches), and concave shapes. With hub adapters, bolt patterns from 5 x 100 to 5 x 130 are accommodated. Additionally, the offset can be conveniently adjusted post-installation using hub adapters. Centering rings are offered in various hub diameters to ensure a precise fit.

This implies that BBS Unlimited wheels are compatible with nearly all vehicles featuring a five-lug attachment. As an illustration, the BBS CI-R Unlimited wheels can be customized to fit the 5 x 128 bolt pattern found on the Aston Martin Vantage Roadster (AM6) by utilizing tailored wheel hub adapters and centering rings. Stay tuned for further details.

For the first time, we actively recruited employees at the Essen Motor Show. Colleagues from our human resources department were present at Hall 3 on weekends.

Unfortunately, our DTM driver and motorsport colleague Tim Heinemann was not there, as he spent his vacation at the racetrack and the Gulf 12 Hours race.

In the Herberth Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R (#33), Tim Heinemann finished third in the Pro-Am class with his co-drivers Antares Au and Matteo Cairoli.

Anyone eager to race could, of course, test the latest hardware from our SimRacing brands or participate in the DTM eSports Championship 2024.