Before we show you the «puppet that drops his pants», let's put the subject in context.
In the 80's Audi won every competition in which it was involved. All. In Europe, for most of the 1980s, the Audi quattro's supremacy in the World Rally Championship was undisputed. It was like that while they were there.
But there was a problem. In the US, an important market for Audi, nobody wanted to know about the World Rally Championship for nothing.
With this in mind, Audi decided to enter the Trans-Am Championship with a Audi 200 quattro Trans-Am . A model with four-wheel drive (obviously), 2.1 l engine with more than 600 hp and Hans-Joachim Stuck at the wheel. Result? Eight wins in 13 races.
The beating that Audi gave the Americans was so great that Trans-Am decided to ban all cars that had all-wheel drive system and "non-American" engine. The equivalent of that spoiled kid who owns the ball and goes home with the ball under his arm whenever he's losing… (if you're reading me, this is for you André Marques!)
Banned? No problem
Banned from the Trans-Am — after all, they owned the ball — Audi moved from "guns and baggage" to a similar championship, but with less restrictive regulations: the IMSA GTO.
Audi 90 IMSA GTO
Tubular chassis, supercharged engines, all-wheel drive system, free suspension scheme, well… the IMSA GTO just looked like touring cars. Result? Audi's new domain.
All against Hans-Joachim Stuck
Fortunately, when it comes to spectacle, Americans give 1000 to 0 to Europeans. And given the supremacy of the Audi 90 IMSA GTO, one of the opponents made a sticker with the face of Hans-Joachim Stuck (Audi driver) and a prohibited sign on top.
Hans-Joachim Stuck's response could not have been more humorous and quirky. The Audi team found a doll that dropped his pants and installed it in the rear window of the Audi 90 IMSA GTO.
How did the trouser drop system work? — I can't believe I just wrote this. The mechanism was simple: Hans-Joachim Stuck had a lever next to the door that was connected by cable to the dummy in the rear window. Whenever he passed a competitor, pimba… he showed his tail to the competition. Hilarious!
In this video (below), Hans-Joachim Stuck mentions that he still uses this doll in his everyday car. And he bursts out laughing as he talks about it...
See how it worked:
With all this stuff about the puppet that drops his pants, I wanted to go back to the Audi theme in the American speed championships. When pairing KKK turbochargers and five-cylinder engines there is always a lot to count. But that's for another day… after all, the ball is mine ?
NOTE: Did you manage to understand, in the video, what is the name that Hans-Joachim Stuck gave to the doll?