09.11.2022"Thank you Keke" - Rosberg's last DTM-Calibra

The Finnish Formula 1-driver and world champion from 1982, celebrated his comeback to the cockpit in 1990, after numerous jobs as a commentator. 

First, Keke took the wheel at Peugeot in 1990 and 1991 before switching to the AMG-Mercedes team in 1992. At the end of the 1993 season, he then decided to switch to Opel, where he worked on the development of the vehicles and founded the "Opel Team Rosberg" at the end of 1994.

As in previous years, the German Touring Car Championship, like the International Touring Car Championship, which was still running parallel in 1995, was primarily decided between the Alfa Romeo 155 V6 TI, the AMG Mercedes C-Class DTM and the Opel Calibra V6 4x4. Due to a number of accidents and retirements, Opel had to take third place in the manufacturers' standings for the two series, behind Mercedes and Alfa Romeo, which was a thoroughly respectable result for the mechanics and designers.

The Opel Calibra V6 4x4 is about a prototype specially developed for the DTM and ITC by Adam Opel AG. The racing car, which was produced from 1993 to 1996, was based on the road version of the Opel Calibra and replaced its predecessor, the Opel Omega 3000 EVO 500, in touring car racing. In 1993, Keke Rosberg, together with teammate and Le Mans winner Manuel Reuter, took on the first test race in Hockenheim in the newly constructed vehicle with the V6 naturally aspirated engine with 2.5 liters displacement and all-wheel drive. Good results in qualifying and the race were followed by problems with the electronics, which would define the improvements still to come up to the 1994 season.

In 1994, the athlete from Rüsselsheim initially shone with a new and reliable engine from Cosworth - officially known as the "Phase 3 Calibra". In the course of the season, however, technical difficulties and brake problems kept appearing, which also thwarted Rosberg and his colleagues in many races. Despite everything, Rosberg managed to finish third in Hockenheim and secured 14th place in the season standings. In doing so, he showed the competition quite clearly what the Calibra was capable of.

The following year, Rosberg started with his own team for the first time and thus fulfilled a double function as team owner and driver. The "Phase-4-Calibra" that was used in 1995, was developed in a cooperation with Williams and had ingenious technical and hydraulic systems that repeatedly posed challenges for the team's mechanics. In the end, this fact meant that the "Phase 3 Calibra" ran much faster and more reliably than the new model. 

Also Rosberg was unable to improve on the result of the previous year in the 1995 season and officially retired from active racing at the DTM finale in Hockenheim. In his honor, Opel designed the "Keke Rosberg Edition" of the Calibra V6 4x4. "Thank you Keke" was emblazoned on both the sides and the bonnet of the white and blue car with starting number two. Thank you for the long and successful cooperation between Rosberg and Opel.

This special model from the year 1995 is now available from WERK83 in scale 1:18 with true-to-detail interior, openable doors and steerable front wheels. 

Keke Rosberg #2 Opel Calibra V6 4x4 DTM / ITC Hockenheim 1995 1:18 WERK83, RRP €69.95, item-no.: W1802004

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Keke Rosberg #2 Opel Calibra V6 4x4 DTM / ITC Hockenheim 1995 1:18 WERK83

39,95 €