Trofeu's DSN range documents the Opel Kadett GT/E at its Group 2 peak, and this release focuses on car #40 — the Publimmo Racing entry driven by Yves Loubet and Jean-François Alemany at the 1979 Tour de Corse. The model reproduces the white and blue livery of that specific entry in 1:43, the scale in which Trofeu has built its reputation for precise rally car reproduction since 1990.
The Opel Kadett C GT/E: Last of the Rear-Wheel-Drive Opels
The Kadett C Coupé measures 4,127 mm long, 1,580 mm wide and 1,340 mm tall — compact dimensions that suited the tight Corsican stages. Beneath the bonnet sits the CIH 20EH inline-4, 1,979 cc, with a bore of 95.0 mm and stroke of 69.8 mm, driving the rear wheels through a 5-speed dog-leg gearbox. Road specification produced 115 PS DIN. The Kadett C was the last small Opel with rear-wheel drive, built at Bochum until July 1979. The Group 2 homologation — number 5624 — covered 2,254 units produced between 1977 and 1979.
Round 10, 1979 WRC: 112 Starters, 14 Finishers
The 1979 Tour de Corse — Round 10 of 12 in the World Rally Championship — ran from 2 to 4 November 1979 based in Ajaccio, Corsica. All 125 entries tackled tarmac roads; only 14 of 112 starters reached the finish, making it one of the most brutal attrition events of the season. Loubet, born 31 October 1958 in Porto-Vecchio, Corsica, was driving his home island just days after his 21st birthday. The #40 Kadett retired with gearbox failure at Special Stage 15. The model's wider significance is underlined by the entry list: 31 of the 112 starters that year drove a Kadett GT/E, and Jochi Kleint claimed the 1979 European Rally Championship in the same model.
Trofeu DSN: 3D-Printed Construction at 1:43
Trofeu, founded in Portugal in 1990, produces 1:43 rally models through its DSN range, which uses 3D-printed body construction combined with die-cast elements — a process that allows small-batch replication of obscure or short-lived competition liveries that mainstream die-cast manufacturers overlook. This release is catalogued as DSN 383, covering the Tour de Corse 1979 Night Version entry of Loubet and Alemany. The white and blue Publimmo Racing scheme is one of the less-documented liveries in the broader Kadett GT/E model family at this scale.
In the Display Cabinet
At 1:43, the model measures approximately 9.5 cm in length — the Kadett C Coupé's 4,127 mm divided by 43. That footprint suits a standard shelf depth and pairs naturally with other Trofeu Kadett GT/E entries from the 1978–1979 WRC season, including the RAC Rally and Portugal Rally releases. Within a broader 1:43 WRC collection, it sits alongside any Fiat 131 Abarth or Saab 99 EMS from the same championship year, filling the Group 2 privateer segment that factory entries cannot represent on their own.
