The little Trabant got stuck in the water splash at the bottom of the Bunnings jumps. Photo: Stuart Bowes
Kahlfuss also contested the arduous Safari Rally in the Trabant.
A local Masai liked the look of the Trabant.
It handled well, turned into corners with aplomb and had an amazing turn of speed. All with just 600cc!
But it was out in the forest where the real action was happening, and where the car’s inadequacies became apparent. Those alloy-finned brakes were the greatest drawback, particularly coming down from the famous Bunnings jumps into the water splash at the bottom.
Not only did the brakes fade out completely, the engine ingested a mouthful of water in the Bunnings creek, causing forward progress to be delayed while everything dried out.
Entering in an event like Rally Australia is one thing, getting there is another, and Kahlfuss and Bauer had a little help from their friends. Toyota, who brought several Celica GT4s to Rally Australia in 1995, found room in one of their containers for the Trabant to make the trip down under, which was quite a saving.
Obviously, Toyota didn’t see the Trabant as being a threat to the performance of their GT4s, even though it was homologated in the Group A category!
On event, the Trabant’s service crew tended the car from a 3-tonne service truck which contained enough spare gearboxes, motors, suspension parts and miscellaneous spares to rebuild the car several times over. There was obviously a serious intent of the crew to gain a respectable placing in the rally.
Sadly, this was the last time that the Trabant and its gallant crew were to be seen in action in Australia – the car’s FIA Group A homologation ran out and its track life was quickly coming to a close.
However, Kahlfuss was keen to keep rallying, albeit not in a Trabby. When asked what he planned to rally the following year, he was quick to reply.
“Celica,” he said. “Trabant brakes no work under water.”
In the long and decorated history of Rally Australia, the Trabant was surely the most unusual, the most unique and the most underpowered car ever to drive down the starting ramp.
And yes, it did finish the event, 45th outright, third in class and almost three hours behind the winner, Kenneth Eriksson.
Whatever you might think of the car, Kahlfuss and Bauer had proved a point. You could almost see the smiles on the faces of hundreds of East German Trabant owners after they heard the news.
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