The production Alfa 8C Competizione has made its German debut this week at AMI 2007 in Leipzig, returning to the country almost four years after it first stunned the world when the covers came off at the Frankfurt IAA. On the occasion of the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2003 it became an overnight sensation, the Alfa Romeo Centro Stile designed car having been kept a guarded secret until the moment it was unveiled.

It took exactly three years for the Alfa 8C Competizione to change from being stunning concept car into stunning production car, but that moment of transformation occured last autumn, at the Paris Mondial de l'Automobile, were the order book was opened - and rapidly closed. This autumn the Alfa 8C Competizione will once again star at the Frankfurt IAA, with the keys to the first production car, which will also be on display, being handed over to the new owner. Amongst the confirmed buyers is Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne and the former Alfa Romeo touring car racing star Nicola Larini. Also making its German debut at this show is the Alfa 159 in TI format, while the Alfa 147 and GT are being presented with the Q2 feature.

AMI has opened its doors for the 17th time to fans of the motor car and experts in the field. Over 470 exhibitors at AMI and AMITEC are offering a unique overview of innovations and the way things are developing across the whole motor vehicle industry; the show closes tomorrow evening. At AMI visitors can see high quality presentations from fifty car manufacturers, unique shows-within-a-show and spectacular promotions. In all five exhibition halls famous vehicle manufacturers and displaying their products alongside exhibitors from other sectors, thus ensuring that visitors get a complete overview of the market.

In past years AMI has increasingly set itself apart as a show offering attractive premieres. Once again in 2007 there have been more than 100 premieres; plus numerous special models, studies and concept cars have been unveiled. In another highlight of the show’s 2007 programme, the exhibiting car manufacturers are once again offering test drives in about 100 current models. This is the most important motor show in Central Europe during the first six months of the year, a period when sales are high. The Motor Show for Central Europe covers an area of 130,000 m². Running alongside the main show is AMITEC, the Central European trade fair for vehicle parts, workshops and service station equipment which is run in parallel (14th – 18th April). 220 exhibitors and more than 50,000 trade visitors from all over Europe have visited the tenth anniversary event.

As well as the carmaker's ranges, AMI 2007 offers the three million German fans of custom cars a comprehensive range of products, from fully modified vehicles through customising parts to accessories for motor sport. A unique feature in Leipzig is that the customisers who are linked to a particular make have their displays in the direct vicinity of “their” make of car, giving visitors to the show an ideal opportunity to make comparisons.
 

The customisers who are not linked to any particular make display their work together in AMI Tuning World. This always attracts a lot of attention and offers a unique chance to put on a display of customising products at AMI to around 290,000 consumers and trade visitors. As well as customisers of whole vehicles, suppliers of rims, chassis systems, exhaust systems and add-on parts, chip and engine customisers, interior stylists and companies exhibiting accessories and parts for motor sports will also be there at AMI.

Off-road professionals as well as new customers have also found all the well-know European, American and Asian suppliers of 4x4s in Leipzig, from Daihatsu to VW, together with their latest vehicles, specialist parts and accessories. A demanding driving course on the outdoor exhibition area invites everyone who is a fan of 4x4s - beginners and experienced drivers alike - to experience what it’s like to be a passenger in the latest models.

The whole bandwidth of motor vehicle trim is represented at AMI: replacement parts and accessories, motor vehicle services, car care products and lubricants. Amongst the motoring exhibits at AMI 2007 there are top quality displays of tyres, rims, air conditioning units, vehicle immobilisers, car radios, navigation systems, mobile phones, roof racks and boxes and much more. Financial service providers, suppliers of software, insurance companies, car clubs and technical testing services are giving competent first-hand information and advice.

The tradition of vehicle building in Saxony began with the opening of factories by Horch, DKW and Wanderer and the founding of Audi. Today the automobile and vehicle supply industry is a key sector in the economy of Saxony, employing around 60,000 people in some 450 companies. Meanwhile companies which operate worldwide, like Volkswagen, Porsche or BMW, have relocated in the Free State. With a share of turnover amounting to more than 20 per cent and an export quota of around 40 per cent, this sector of the economy is the driving force behind the processing industry of Saxony. With their little show-within-a-show the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Labour of the State of Saxony, Wirtschaftsförderung Sachsen GmbH, the "Automobile Suppliers in Saxony" network initiative and the Economic Region of Chemnitz-Zwickau is building a bridge between the past and present of vehicle manufacture in Saxony. Automobile models from Saxony together with other interesting exhibits show that automobile building in Saxony is still characterised as it always has been - by tradition and innovation.