FINALLY!!! My Paris show report
Dear Rennteamers,
Sorry for the delay but I went over the last week end as I live in the UK.
Ron, my friend, you didn't miss much, in the sense that you've already seen the pics and that it was so crowded! It was ridiculous!!!
I only did a few stands, Merc, Porsche, Ferrari/ Maserati, Maybach and Rolls.
Wanted to check out BMW but too many people and I don't have friends there, so we couldn't have gotten the wonderful VIP treatment we got. BTW, thank you so much to Merc, Porsche & Ferrari for the kindness, I know you'll read this guys.
Mercedes:
First visit, they invited us one hour before the opening of the show so it was nice and quiet. We were allowed to sit in cars that were normally closed to the public. The SLR is great but so are the CST and GST. Chatted for a long time with the project chief of the CST/GST, a very enthousiastic german man with a terrible accent
and clearly proud of his babies. Very frustrated though too, as he knows that more than half the goodies won't make production.
The CLS is also great. And of course, for all the stands, Coffee, food, etc etc etc. I have been invited to test drive the SL65 and the SLR in a couple of weeks, I will obviously fly back to Paris for that and let you know what I think.
Porsche:
Very nice too, but the stand not as nice as Merc. The 997 we all know. So I won't write about it. The Boxster looks fantastic too. It's a shame for the public, as the CGT was hidden in a private salon, but I got to play with it for while. Very nice car. And although I haven't driven it of course, the clutch is indeed heavy but no more than the GT2 I tried a while back. Was also offered a test drive on the CERAM circuit, but it was only on Monday, bad luck
I don't know if this is worrying for Porsche, but they can get me a CGT the way I want for March, that's not much waiting time. The SLR waiting list is 8 months BTW.
Ferrari/ Maserati:
Have my great frient there, so it was like being at home. The 430 is amazing, the interior feels much much better than the 360 or even the 575 GTC that was also on display. Gransport and MC12 are nice, the MC12 is just a monster, loved it! But very cramped inside.
Maybach/ RR: Both are just ridiculously outrageous, but oh so nice! Amazing stand too, we were invited thanks to Merc and Ferrari respectively BTW. I prefer the RR for its sheer presence. The Maybach is just a big S class.
I have taken a lot of pictures, please enjoy them all on my webpage:
http://homepage.mac.com/thefanch/Menu4.html
Take care all and thanks for reading the long message.
Next post will hopefully be an SLR driving report. I'll see what I can do about the CGT. Oh and I have been invited to test drive the Gransport and 430 too, nice program, lucky me!
Sorry for the delay but I went over the last week end as I live in the UK.
Ron, my friend, you didn't miss much, in the sense that you've already seen the pics and that it was so crowded! It was ridiculous!!!
I only did a few stands, Merc, Porsche, Ferrari/ Maserati, Maybach and Rolls.
Wanted to check out BMW but too many people and I don't have friends there, so we couldn't have gotten the wonderful VIP treatment we got. BTW, thank you so much to Merc, Porsche & Ferrari for the kindness, I know you'll read this guys.
Mercedes:
First visit, they invited us one hour before the opening of the show so it was nice and quiet. We were allowed to sit in cars that were normally closed to the public. The SLR is great but so are the CST and GST. Chatted for a long time with the project chief of the CST/GST, a very enthousiastic german man with a terrible accent
and clearly proud of his babies. Very frustrated though too, as he knows that more than half the goodies won't make production.The CLS is also great. And of course, for all the stands, Coffee, food, etc etc etc. I have been invited to test drive the SL65 and the SLR in a couple of weeks, I will obviously fly back to Paris for that and let you know what I think.
Porsche:
Very nice too, but the stand not as nice as Merc. The 997 we all know. So I won't write about it. The Boxster looks fantastic too. It's a shame for the public, as the CGT was hidden in a private salon, but I got to play with it for while. Very nice car. And although I haven't driven it of course, the clutch is indeed heavy but no more than the GT2 I tried a while back. Was also offered a test drive on the CERAM circuit, but it was only on Monday, bad luck
I don't know if this is worrying for Porsche, but they can get me a CGT the way I want for March, that's not much waiting time. The SLR waiting list is 8 months BTW.
Ferrari/ Maserati:
Have my great frient there, so it was like being at home. The 430 is amazing, the interior feels much much better than the 360 or even the 575 GTC that was also on display. Gransport and MC12 are nice, the MC12 is just a monster, loved it! But very cramped inside.
Maybach/ RR: Both are just ridiculously outrageous, but oh so nice! Amazing stand too, we were invited thanks to Merc and Ferrari respectively BTW. I prefer the RR for its sheer presence. The Maybach is just a big S class.
I have taken a lot of pictures, please enjoy them all on my webpage:
http://homepage.mac.com/thefanch/Menu4.html
Take care all and thanks for reading the long message.
Next post will hopefully be an SLR driving report. I'll see what I can do about the CGT. Oh and I have been invited to test drive the Gransport and 430 too, nice program, lucky me!
