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Eifel Rallye Festival 2015 – Report and Photos

1983 Lancia Rally 037 Julien Mahiels
1983 Lancia Rally 037

The Eifel Rallye Festival 2015 was staged 23-25 July in the Eifel Mountains of Western Germany. A strong field of more than 160 rally machines from more than 35 manufacturers represented five decades of rallying history. The 3-day rally was held over eight special stages in and around the town of Daun, turning the volcanic Eifel region into the center of historic rally racing.

The 2015 running of the Eifel Rallye Festival offered spectators the rare chance to see the cars that made the history of rallying. The entry list began with an Volvo Amazon P122 and an Austain-Healey 3000 from 1961 and stretched up to a Peugeot 206 WRC from 2003, the youngest car ever to take part in an Eifel Rallye Festival. All in all, there were twenty-four Group B cars plus rare prototypes such as the Citroen DS and SM Proto or the Skoda 160RS MTX of which three examples were ever built. And this year’s Festival saw a record of seven World Rally Cars coming under starter’s orders.

The Eifel Rallye Festival 2015 once again featured legendary rallying ace Walter Rohrl as patron of the event, in addition to honoring Swedish rally great Bjorn Waldegard, who died less than a year ago. Porsche Classic sent the Martini Porsche driven by Waldegard on the 1978 Safari Rally and alongside it David Cavanagh brought his similar car. Cavanagh and Waldegard drove this Martini-liveried 911 on the East African Safari Classic in 2005 to seventh overall and received the Henry Liddon Memorial Trophy for the spirit of the event.

The Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC rally car — star of the 1978 Vuelta a la America del Sud long-distance rally — also staged an appearance at the 5th annual ADAC Eifel Rally Festival. One of the original coupes with which Mercedes-Benz scored a one-two victory in 1978 was driven at the Rally Festival by Andrew Cowan (the 1978 winner) and Klaus Kaiser as well as by the team of Hannu Mikkola and Arne Hertz.

Similar to 2012, 2013 and 2014, Senior Photographer Julien Mahiels also documented the Eifel Rallye Festival 2015, offering the following stunning picture gallery that shows the varied field of entrants tackling the volcanic Eifel region of Germany. We split up Julien’s pictures into two galleries. The first gallery starting below features our favorite images, all displayed in the full-width view of Sports Car Digest, while the second gallery can be found on the last page of the article and gives a comprehensive view of all the photographs. To see more from Julien, visit julienmahiels.net.

Eifel Rallye Festival 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery

 

1991 Lancia Delta Integrale
1991 Lancia Delta Integrale
1973 Volkwagen 1303S
1973 Volkwagen 1303S
1973 Porsche 911
1973 Porsche 911
1978 Fiat 131 Abarth
1978 Fiat 131 Abarth
1981 Saab 99 Turbo
1981 Saab 99 Turbo
1961 Austin-Healey 3000
1961 Austin-Healey 3000
1972 Saab 96 V4
1972 Saab 96 V4
1984 Audi Sport Quattro
1984 Audi Sport Quattro

 

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Eifel Rallye Festival 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Two

 

1977 Lancia Stratos
1977 Lancia Stratos
1988 Ford Sierra RS Cosworth
1988 Ford Sierra RS Cosworth
1978 Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC
1978 Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC
Ex-Walter Rohrl Monte Carlo Rallye 1985 Audi Sport Quattro
Ex-Walter Rohrl Monte Carlo Rallye 1985 Audi Sport Quattro
Ford Escort RS
Ford Escort RS
1986 Opel Manta 400
1986 Opel Manta 400
Toyota was well represented at the 2015 Eifel Rallye Festival
Toyota was well represented at the 2015 Eifel Rallye Festival
1982 Opel Ascona 400
1982 Opel Ascona 400

 

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Eifel Rallye Festival 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Three

 

1978 Ford Escort RS1800
1978 Ford Escort RS1800
1981 Mitsubishi Lancer Turbo
1981 Mitsubishi Lancer Turbo
1978 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 3.0
1978 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 3.0
1981 Porsche 911 Carrera RSR
1981 Porsche 911 Carrera RSR
1986 Ford RS200
1986 Ford RS200
1984 Audi Sport Quattro
1984 Audi Sport Quattro
1989 Ford Sierra RS Cosworth
1989 Ford Sierra RS Cosworth
1986 Nissan 240RS
1986 Nissan 240RS

 

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Eifel Rallye Festival 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Four

 

1982 Opel Ascona 400
1982 Opel Ascona 400
1973 Opel Commodore
1973 Opel Commodore
2000 Peugeot 206 WRC
2000 Peugeot 206 WRC
1976 Fiat Abarth 124 Rallye
1976 Fiat Abarth 124 Rallye
1972 Ford Escort RS1600
1972 Ford Escort RS1600
1972 Jide 1600
1972 Jide 1600
1984 Mazda RX-7
1984 Mazda RX-7
1977 Lancia Stratos
1977 Lancia Stratos

 

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Eifel Rallye Festival 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Five

 

1991 Lancia Delta Integrale
1991 Lancia Delta Integrale
1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7
1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7
1978 Ford Escort RS1800
1978 Ford Escort RS1800
1991 Lancia Delta Integrale
1991 Lancia Delta Integrale
1981 VW Golf GTi
1981 VW Golf GTi
1978 Fiat 131 Abarth
1978 Fiat 131 Abarth
1988 Audi 200 Quattro
1988 Audi 200 Quattro
1985 BMW 635 Csi
1985 BMW 635 Csi

 

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Eifel Rallye Festival 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Six

 

1977 Toyota Celica 2000GT
1977 Toyota Celica 2000GT
1989 BMW M3 E30
1989 BMW M3 E30
1972 Ford Escort RS1600
1972 Ford Escort RS1600
2005 Porsche 911
2005 Porsche 911
1978 Ford Escort RS1800
1978 Ford Escort RS1800
1977 Toyota Celica 2000GT
1977 Toyota Celica 2000GT
1983 Nissan 240RS
1983 Nissan 240RS
Eifel Rallye Festival 2015
Eifel Rallye Festival 2015

 

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Eifel Rallye Festival 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Seven

 

1989 Toyota Celica ST165
1989 Toyota Celica ST165
1986 Toyota Celica TCT
1986 Toyota Celica TCT
1972 Ford Escort RS1600
1972 Ford Escort RS1600
1984 Audi Quattro
1984 Audi Quattro
1977 Toyota Celica 2000GT
1977 Toyota Celica 2000GT
1984 Audi Quattro
1984 Audi Quattro
1973 Mitsubishi Colt Lancer
1973 Mitsubishi Colt Lancer
1983 Lancia Rally 037
1983 Lancia Rally 037

 

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Eifel Rallye Festival 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Eight

 

1989 BMW M3 E30
1989 BMW M3 E30
1977 Lancia Stratos
1977 Lancia Stratos
1991 Lancia Delta Integrale
1991 Lancia Delta Integrale
1986 Toyota Celica TCT
1986 Toyota Celica TCT
1986 MG Metro 6R4
1986 MG Metro 6R4
Alpine and Michelin - Eifel Rallye Festival 2015
Alpine and Michelin – Eifel Rallye Festival 2015
1985 Audi Sport Quattro
1985 Audi Sport Quattro
1983 Lancia Rally 037
1983 Lancia Rally 037

 

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Eifel Rallye Festival 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Nine

 

1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7
1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7
1989 Toyota Celica ST165
1989 Toyota Celica ST165
1978 Ford Escort RS1800
1978 Ford Escort RS1800
1986 Ford RS200
1986 Ford RS200
1986 Toyota Celica TCT
1986 Toyota Celica TCT
1978 Fiat 131 Abarth
1978 Fiat 131 Abarth
Bjorn Waldegard and David Cavanagh drove this Martini-liveried Porsche 911 on the East African Safari Classic in 2005
Bjorn Waldegard and David Cavanagh drove this Martini-liveried Porsche 911 on the East African Safari Classic in 2005
Bjorn Waldegard and David Cavanagh drove this Martini-liveried Porsche 911 on the East African Safari Classic in 2005
Bjorn Waldegard and David Cavanagh drove this Martini-liveried Porsche 911 on the East African Safari Classic in 2005

 

The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Eifel Rallye Festival 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Ten

 

1976 Opel Kadett GT/E 16V
1976 Opel Kadett GT/E 16V
1961 Volvo Amazon P122
1961 Volvo Amazon P122
1988 Ford Sierra RS Cosworth
1988 Ford Sierra RS Cosworth
1984 Audi Quattro
1984 Audi Quattro
1984 Skoda 160RS MTX
1984 Skoda 160RS MTX
1973 Polski Fiat 125p
1973 Polski Fiat 125p
1978 Ford Escort RS1800
1978 Ford Escort RS1800
1984 Audi Quattro
1984 Audi Quattro

 

The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Eifel Rallye Festival 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Eleven

 

1997 Ford Escort WRC
1997 Ford Escort WRC
1987 Audi Sport Quattro E2
1987 Audi Sport Quattro E2
1996 Ford Escort RS Cosworth
1996 Ford Escort RS Cosworth
1982 Audi Quattro
1982 Audi Quattro
1977 Toyota Celica 2000GT
1977 Toyota Celica 2000GT
1973 Mitsubishi Colt Lancer
1973 Mitsubishi Colt Lancer
1984 Renault 5 Turbo
1984 Renault 5 Turbo
1981 VW Golf GTi
1981 VW Golf GTi

 

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Eifel Rallye Festival 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Twelve

 

1976 Opel Kadett GT/E 16V
1976 Opel Kadett GT/E 16V
Ford Escort RS
Ford Escort RS
1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7
1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7
1961 Volvo Amazon P122
1961 Volvo Amazon P122
1977 Toyota Celica 2000GT
1977 Toyota Celica 2000GT
1980 Ford Escort RS2000
1980 Ford Escort RS2000
Popular viewing spot at the Eifel Rallye Festival 2015
Popular viewing spot at the Eifel Rallye Festival 2015
1985 Audi Sport Quattro
1985 Audi Sport Quattro

 

The unauthorized use and/or duplication of any editorial or photographic content from sportscardigest.com without express and written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to sportscardigest.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Eifel Rallye Festival 2015 – Featured Photo Gallery Page Thirteen

 

1978 Mercedes-Benz 280 E
1978 Mercedes-Benz 280 E
1964 Ford Falcon Sprint
1964 Ford Falcon Sprint
1983 Nissan 240RS
1983 Nissan 240RS
1972 BMW 2002
1972 BMW 2002
Lights ablaze at the Eifel Rallye Festival 2015
Lights ablaze at the Eifel Rallye Festival 2015
1986 Ford RS200
1986 Ford RS200
1977 Lancia Stratos
1977 Lancia Stratos
1978 Fiat 131 Abarth
1978 Fiat 131 Abarth

 

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Eifel Rallye Festival 2015 – Main Photo Gallery (click image for larger picture and description)

 

[nggallery id=820 images=15]

 

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[Source: Eifel Rallye Festival; photos: Julien Mahiels]