A family affair

The famous G-Wagon was in fact originally designed by the Austrian Puch concern before being built under licence by Mercedes. For a while both companies produced the car in parallel before Mercedes became the sole manufacturer. So in 1985 when BMW were looking around for a suitable car to prepare as a rapid assistance vehicle for their factory motorcycle team, spearheaded by Belgian moto-x champion Gaston Rahier, it was logical that they opted for a Puch rather than a 4x4 bearing the name of their eternal rival. One of those 1985 cars was driven by none other than Max and Laurence’s father Josef Loder, so no surprises what car the two half-brothers have decided to enter for their first Dakar Classic. The original car was a 2 door long wheel base model. Only about 200 of this version were made and they are now virtually impossible to find. So in the interests of originality a ‘normal’ four door version was purchased and converted to resemble as closely as possible the car that took the start of the Dakar all those years ago. No exaggeration to say the result is a work of art.

M.L.: “A friend of ours, a retired ex-BMW F1 engineer has been working pretty much full time on the car for over year. Not only has it been completed rebuilt from the ground up but it has also been modified to 2 door configuration. The 1985 team was sponsored by a cigarette brand and a men’s magazine. The logos of both these brands are very famous and instantly recognisable but neither are acceptable in motorsport today so we’ve worked hard at a producing something that is visually similar without upsetting modern day sensibilities. As my dad’s job was to assist the motorcycle riders in his team his finishing position was clearly not a priority and I think he finished last or maybe second to last. That’s good news for myself and my brother because it means we have no pressure to produce a good result! And that’s probably just as well as neither of us have any previous experience with this kind of thing. I run a wheel, tyre and accessory business specialising in 4x4s with my semi-retired dad, while my brother, who is 20 years younger than me, is an engineering student at university. Here’s hoping the pressure of competition doesn’t put too much strain on our up until now harmonious relationship!”