#2002 Bahn concept
With the rapidly declining sales of the 2000 pacific KHT has found itself in a downfall from which it had to pull itself quite rapidly. The 96 Monte Carlo concept and the production line were sold off which allowed a bit of a breathing room. By 2002 Geneva motor show a new concept was released, testing the waters for a new market.
The Bahn was a mid engined 2 door luxury GT car, fitted witl as much tech as Kraft Haus could afford, but instead of a regular pursuit of pure speed a new direction was taken. The autobahn cruiser took advantage of advanced aerodynamics and streamlining for better efficiency, as well as all the materials know-how the company has acquired in the previous years. A carbon fiber monocoque was covered in carbon fiber panels, hiding much of the Pacific’s suspension and drivetrain solutions, which meant that the handling aspect of the car was taken care of straight out of the box.
The main concern for KHT with the Bahn was the driver’s comfort, so behind the suicide doors you would find an interior for two, clad in luxurious materials, including leather, alcantara and wood, spruced up by a high end stereo system courtesy of Bang & Olufsen. Included in the car was also an artillery barrage worth of airbags, to get one of the highest safety ratings of all KHT vehicles of all time.
Hiding behind the cockpit was the same 5 liter v8 found in the Pacific, now fitted with an experimental VVT on the intake cams, and sporting two tiny turbochargers, de-tuned for maximum efficiency, and sporting new low friction pistons which were also providing for a much lower CR. The resulted engine was very similar to a diesel in terms of numbers, but unlike one it sounded like a good petrol v8 should, and pulled all the way from idle up to 6000 RPM. The official numbers were 530nm of torque and 270hp.
While the power output was not something people gasped over (they did, but in a bad way), the performance was not in question, as the car managed a zero to 100 dash in 4.3 seconds and 309 kph, outrunning a lot of the GT class competition, while returning a 5.8 liter / 100 km fuel consumption rating. The car also managed a 1.18 G on a skidpad, as well as a TG test track time of 1:20.4, on par with many way more powerful competitors.
The concept has interested quite a few people and while work began to cheapen and simplify the car to let it go into production a small team hand crafted 11 Bahns exactly as the one presented at Geneva in 2002, designated as KHT Bahn C, each sold at $650,000, which was about $575,000 more than each of them cost the factory to build. The very limited number of cars has allowed KHT to track them all to this day
#1 Privately owned, Dubai, UAE
#2 Privately owned, Doha, Qatar
#3 Privately owned, Tbilisi, Georgia
#4 Privately owned, Ichikawa, Japan
#5 Privately owned, Melbourne, Australia
#6 Destroyed in garage fire, 2013, Tallinn, Estonia
#7 Privately owned, Monaco, Monte Carlo
#8 Privately owned, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
#9 Privately owned, St.Petersburg, Russia
#10 Destroyed in a car crash, 2006, Frankfurt, Germany
#11 Destroyed in a crash with a privately owned Cessna 182, 2003, Malaga, Spain