Kalle Grundel

Kalle Grundel made his name by hustling a front-wheel-drive Volkswagen Golf GTI among the Group B monsters, then reached the podium in the Ford RS200 and won the 1985 German championship for Peugeot.

1
podium 1982–86
17
starts
3rd
1986 Swedish Rally
1985
German champion
Grouve Sport documentary

Episode 5 — The British Challengers: MG Metro 6R4 & Ford RS200

The Ford RS200 and the British challengers.

Golf giant-killer

Born on 2 October 1948, Grundel was the leading Volkswagen works driver in the early 1980s. In a Group A Golf GTI he was fifth on the 1983 Swedish Rally (the best non-Audi finisher) and regularly finished in the top ten on events from Monte Carlo to the RAC.

Peugeot and Ford

In 1985 he drove a Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 for Peugeot’s German importer, winning the German championship with Peter Diekmann and finishing fifth on the 1000 Lakes in a works car. For 1986 he joined Ford for the RS200 programme:

  • 1986 Swedish Rally – third on the RS200’s world championship debut, his only world championship podium.
  • 1986 1000 Lakes Rally – sixth, this time in a Lancia Delta S4.
  • 1986 RAC Rally – fifth, the RS200’s best result after its return.

His co-driver in the RS200 was Benny Melander.

Statistics on this page cover world championship rallies from January 1982 to December 1986, excluding the annulled 1986 Rallye Sanremo, and are counted from the entry lists and results in Jonkka’s World Rally Archive. ‘Starts’ means appearances on an entry list.

From Golf GTI giant-killer to the RS200 podium and a German title.

European and national championships

Grundel’s 1985 German title was won with four victories — the ADAC Winter, Hessen, Hunsrück and Saarland rallies — in the 205 T16 of Peugeot Talbot Deutschland. All four were also European championship rounds. See the German championship.

Career in the Group B years

World Rally Championship podiums of the driver, year by year (1982–1986). win 2nd 3rd

1982
0wins
0 podiums
1983
0wins
0 podiums
1984
0wins
0 podiums
1985
0wins
0 podiums
1986
0wins
1 podium

0 WRC wins · 1 podium finishes, 1982–1986

More from Drivers

Jimmy McRaeFive British titles, an RAC podium and the founder of a rallying dynasty.Read more →Malcolm WilsonAudi quattro privateer, works Metro 6R4 driver and later founder of M-Sport.Read more →Shekhar MehtaFive-time Safari winner and Nissan's leader on the rough rallies of the Group B era.Read more →Tony PondBritain's fast man: a podium on the Metro 6R4's debut.Read more →Lars-Erik TorphTwo second places in three starts in 1986: Toyota's young Swede in the final Group B season.Read more →Bruno SabyFrench champion with Renault, winner of the tragic 1986 Tour de Corse for Peugeot.Read more →

Sources

  1. Wikipedia (EN), Kalle Grundel — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalle_Grundel
  2. Wikipedia (DE), Deutsche Rallye-Meisterschaft — https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsche_Rallye-Meisterschaft
  3. Jonkka's World Rally Archive (juwra.com), results and entry lists 1982–1986 — https://www.juwra.com/

All text is original writing for Grouve Sports Management Group, based on the sources above. Facts checked on 21 October 2026.

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Thumbnail photos on this page: Brendan Mullan from Glasgow, Scotland (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0); Carlo Marzetti (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0); Morio (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Carlomarzetti (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0); Rutger van der Maar (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0); Y.Leclercq (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).