In the “Volto 850” from MeanMachine and JP Performance, a KW suspension grip also ensures that the tires can build up grip
You and we are Essen Motor Show and that’s just wonderful. Basically, we have been exhibiting in Essen since 1995 and it was this very special trade fair that really put our idea of a coilover suspension with parts certificate on the road to success.
How the tuning industry, the tuning community, the exhibitor landscape and also the entire topic have changed in recent years can also be seen at our booth. Because we are much more than KW coilovers and tuning.
In 2024 we exhibited with all our brands and if this blog post has been published, the fair will run until December 8, 2024. The Essen Motor Show is simply the event for ap Sportfahrwerke, BBS, KW suspensions, Reiger Suspension and ST suspensions as well as our SimRacing brands Ascher Racing, RaceRoom and TrackTime.
Our colleagues from Sim-Racing shared the space on our multi-brand stand together with BBS, where we again integrated two vehicle models into the “booth wall”.
Below the Lamborghini SC 63 LMDh prototype race car, equipped with our KW Racing dampers for the FIA WEC and IMSA since 2023, we showcased our latest Ascher Racing hardware.
We showed all models of our Ascher Racing McLaren steering wheel series, which are not only used by professional SimRacers, but also by racing drivers themselves. Among them are Tim Heinemann, Aston Martin F1 test driver and former F2 champion Felipe Drugovich and multiple F1 world champion Max Verstappen.
By the way, our Ascher Racing Ultimate SimRacing steering wheels will soon be available to order personalized with laser engraving on request. For the first time in Essen, the colleagues also unveiled two prototypes of new 2motion and 3motion simulators. These have numerous new details such as more compact dimensions, intelligent cable management and modularly expandable additional equipment.
At BBS, we showed our BBS Unlimited wheel range and informed the trade partners and the industry that the well-known BBS alloy wheels are still available. More about this soon at your specialist dealer.
With our BBS CH-R-II wheels and BBS CI-R Unlimited wheels as well as KW V3 coilover suspension, we equipped an Audi S5 Avant (B10) at the BBS booth, but someone else stole the show from the Audi at our booth.
Of course, we are talking about the new BMW M5 (G90) wrapped in Toxic Green. The M5, styled with an M Performance package as well as BBS CI-R Unlimited wheels in 11 x 21 inches and 11.5 x 21 inches in white gold silk matt (driver’s side) and Diamond Black (passenger side), was our “demo carrier” for the KW V4 coilover suspension.
The suspension including parts certificate for the BMW M5 will be available to order from specialist dealers in spring 2025. The cool thing about the three-way adjustable KW V4 coilover suspension for the 727 hp plug-in hybrid M5 is that we don’t need any external reservoirs. We manufacture the dampers for the BMW in a high-strength aluminium alloy.
As mentioned earlier, we’re more than our renowned KW coilovers and tuning solutions, we’re a trusted development partner for leading car manufacturers, tuners, and motorsport teams worldwide.
We presented a Porsche 911 GT3 with a Manthey kit as the flagship for our so-called ‘Special-OE’ division. The car manufacturer Porsche holds a 51 per cent stake in Manthey, which means that Manthey also supplies the optional Porsche Tequipment Original accessories programme with its components.
Our clientele includes renowned brands like Alpina, Audi, Bugatti, BMW, Brabus, Ford, HWA, Lamborghini Squadra Corse, Marc Philipp Gemballa, Manthey, Mercedes-Benz, Mercedes-AMG, Novitec, Pininfarina, Rimac, Ruf, Toyota, and VW.
Just follow our “Special OE Tag” on the blog and you will surely find one or the other interesting story.
Even the Chinese car manufacturer BYD offers the option to order our KW coilover suspensions directly. For example, the KW V3 coilover suspension is an official accessory for the BYD Seal electric sedan.
At our off-road motorsport brand Reiger Suspension, we showed the iconic M-Sport Ford Escort WRC from 1997 as a highlight for rally fans, with which Carlos Sainz won the Rally Greece and Rally Indonesia with his co-driver Luis Moya.
For the first time at the Essen Motor Show, we at Reiger Suspension presented the new off-road dampers with certification that will be available in the course of 2025. This is the Reiger SP-RC 3.0 damper based on our KW Solid Piston design. This four-way adjustable damper will be the first to be released for the Ford Ranger, Isuzu D-Max and Toyota Hilux. In the first tests, it impressed with exceptional driving dynamics on both paved and unpaved roads.
Other Reiger innovations include the three-way adjustable MT-RC 2.5 monotube off-road shock and the two-way adjustable MT-C 2.5 monotube off-road shock. These two new developments are based on technologies proven in Rally Raid. Depending on the car, they offer a lift of up to 60 millimeters. You can find all information about Reiger Suspension directly on the Reiger website www.reigersuspension.com.
Speaking of new products in our KW product categories Street Comfort, Street Performance and Track Performance, we presented our optional “KW Classic Line” for the first time at the Essen Motor Show.
These are our well-known KW classic suspension applications, which also harmonize in Germany with historic vehicle registration and are now also available with black springs and black components.
The KW V7 Racing shock gave us a taste of the future at Essen Motor Show. This cutting-edge, six-way adjustable damper, based on our renowned Solid Piston design, features two independently tunable blow-off valves, high-speed compression, high-speed rebound, low-speed compression, and low-speed rebound damping.
At the Essen Motor Show, we also awarded the KW Sports Cup to our motorsport customers who compete for top positions and the championship on the Nürburgring Nordschleife.
What we are always very pleased about at the Essen Motor Show 2024 is that so many long-term KW specialist dealers and customers for our suspension brands ap Sportfahrwerke, KW suspensions and ST suspensions are on site.
AC Schnitzer, Aulitzky Tuning, Customkingz Performance, Friedrich Motorsport, Heico Sportiv, HG Motorsport, ISA-Racing, LCE Performance, S&R Eisenmann, Rieger Tuning, Silent Tuning, and many others were present at the trade fair. A big thank you to everyone who attended.
The 600 hp “HerbiE – Recharged” electric powered Käfer from Andritz Metals Germany is also equipped with a KW coilover suspension
It’s common knowledge that our individual construction department at KW can develop custom coilover suspensions for almost any vehicle, based on our KW Racing components. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact our KW sales team.
In addition to individual customers, this service is also used by car manufacturers for concept vehicles, as well as by KW specialist trade partners, influencers, and tuners.
When strolling through the exhibition halls at the Essen Motor Show, you can’t miss our brands. You’ll constantly encounter sports cars, compact sports cars, classic cars, racing cars, or vintage cars that are equipped with our components.
In Sidney Hoffmann’s “safari look” GTI, we installed a prototype of our lift suspension. However, an official release date has not yet been set.
What is certain, however, is that ap Sportfahrwerke continues to accelerate full speed ahead with their affordable entry-level suspension kits. Since 2019, ap sports suspensions and ap coilover suspensions, manufactured with components from the KW group, have been officially under the KW automotive umbrella.
On our KW blog you can find several stories for those who are interested in the coilovers from our brand ap Sportfahrwerke. Because as you can see in the picture of the Mercedes-Benz Coupé C 200, the ap coilover kits can be quite low.
The Essen Motor Show 2024 also showed that our ST suspensions brand is increasingly emerging from the shadow of KW. We’ve fine-tuned ST’s brand identity, and the result is clear: our ST XTA and ST XTA plus 3 coilovers are now suitable for even the most demanding track day enthusiasts. This is a game-changer, especially for those on a budget.