In A Buggy With 650 Hp Through The Desert

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In A Buggy With 650 Hp Through The Desert
In A Buggy With 650 Hp Through The Desert

Video: In A Buggy With 650 Hp Through The Desert

Video: In A Buggy With 650 Hp Through The Desert
Video: I BOUGHT A CRAZY NEW DRIFT BUGGY! - The Buggy 2024, March
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The German rally drivers Armin Schwarz and Matthias Kahle are preparing for the Baja 1000, one of the toughest off-road races in the world. The chances of a top placement are not bad.

By Frank Mertens

The dress rehearsal was a success. Armin Schwarz and Matthias Kahle from the All German Motorsports team can be correspondingly satisfied. At the Primm 300, the desert hunt at the gates of the gamblers' paradise Las Vegas, the German duo was able to take fourth place in the Unlimited Buggies class with their 650 hp buggy at the beginning of the month. "Of course it's a shame that we missed the podium," said ex-European rally champion Armin Schwarz after the desert hunt.

Technology passes the acid test

But with a view to the upcoming off-road adventure, the legendary Baja 1000, the German duo can be extremely confident. Because the technology on your buggy has passed the endurance test in this desert hunt with ease. "Our new Xtrac six-speed transmission, which was used for the first time in an emergency, worked wonderfully, as did the new clutch and the Tourque limiter from ZF Sachs," reports Schwarz.

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The buggy, which has been further developed by team boss Martin Christensen, differs from the competition mainly in these two components: the buggies from the competition usually have a five-speed instead of a six-speed gearbox, as Christensen reports. The sequential six-speed gearbox, specially developed for hunting through the desert, enables finer gradations and smoother gear changes. "The Xtrac gearbox is also around 35 kilos lighter than the add-on parts from the competition," says Schwarz.

Support from Skoda

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The fact that the buggy is on the road with a differential lock is of little use on the straights, but in the corners it unfolds its full strength. Here, like in deep sand, it allows much faster journeys. An aspect that should not be underestimated on the difficult off-road slopes such as the last one on the Primm in the US state of Nevada. The Schwarz / Kahle team, supported by Skoda Auto Deutschland, wants to exploit this advantage in one and a half months. Because then the Baja 1000 will take place from November 10 to 16 on the Mexican peninsula Baja California, a race over an impressive 1400 miles.

Place on the podium

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The goal for the Baja 1000 company is clear for the two Germans - they want to get on the podium. "If everything goes without complications, that's realistic," says Matthias Kahle. While Schwarz is still in the States, Kahle is already back in Germany. He will be traveling back to the States in late October for the final tests.

“Armin and I will definitely drive the respective section at least once during training, and ideally we want to do it twice in preparation,” says Kahle. It is not yet clear who will open the race. “I'll talk to Armin about that, but at the moment it looks like I'll be doing the second part,” says Kahle.

Nine hours on the way

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That would be at least 500 miles, maybe more. A mighty challenge, even if the temperatures at the Baja 1000 are not over 40 degrees as in the Nevada desert. "Even if it's not that hot there, it doesn't get any easier because it gets damn cold there at night," reports Kahle.

Top speed on the salt lake

But that is exactly what the two rally drivers appreciate about this off-road adventure - the unpredictability. “You have to constantly adapt to new challenges,” says Kahle.

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Anyone who assumes that the 650 hp buggy vehicle is not really fast in the difficult terrain is mistaken - and vastly. Because the buggy easily reaches a top speed of 235 km / h - and that away from paved roads. "When we are on a salt lake near Baja, we can also drive at top speed," says Kahle.

The child in the man

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"While everything is regulated in rallying, here you can almost do what you want: It's a real men's sport," says Schwarz. And Matthias Kahle agrees with his teammate. «Anyone who is out and about with a buggy is simply delighted. The child in the man comes out. " So Schwarz and Kahle make fun of jumping with their buggy over two longitudinally positioned Octavia Scouts, which were also able to demonstrate their skills in the desert. It goes without saying that the buggies can fly 30 to 40 meters.

Above all, this sport is something for true hobbyists. Everyone welds his vehicle together from an enormous amount of steel. "What you see here are a lot of moving scrap piles," jokes Armin Schwarz.

The hardships of this off-road race are tough - the Baja drivers sit in the car for an average of eight to nine hours. "You lose three to four kilos of weight in the process," reports Kahle. Of course, the whole thing is not safe. On the Primm 300, a vehicle overturned shortly after take-off - the life of the driver could no longer be saved.

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