Eleanor: The Last Interceptor Of Donbas
The story you’re about to read is a truly remarkable tale of an unbelievably brave man carrying out a spectacularly noble task in a wholly unremarkable car, and if you have any capacity at all please do consider donating to aid his efforts. The link to the donation site is right here.
When it comes to vehicles that you’d typically expect to see in an active war zone, things like tanks and armoured Humvees are perhaps what would first spring to mind. Another common answer would probably be any large and rugged off-roader, like the UN peacekeeper’s favourite Toyota Land Cruiser or Nissan Patrol for instance.
What is however likely not to be even thought of as a car that will ever see duty in an active war would be a 30-year old German sedan. But in perhaps the most spectacularly heroic display of how even the most ordinary of cars are capable of performing the most extraordinary of feats, this is exactly what one particular 1991 Audi 100 is currently doing — serving as an supply and evacuation vehicle in the ongoing Ukrainian conflict.
Surviving everything from bombed-out roads to the actual bombs themselves, this very Audi 100 you see here has been responsible for bringing supplies in and stranded people out of the heavily-contested Donbas region of Ukraine. Piloted by its owner and custodian André West, it is reckoned that this 90s German sedan alone has already saved the lives of over 200 people so far.
And despite the still ongoing war in Ukraine, André — who is the founder and current head of SAR Kharkiv/Donbas — has also very graciously found some time amidst his evacuation missions to tell a few tales of him and his Audi. So it is with great honour then to share with you all the story to date of Eleanor: The Last Interceptor Of Donbas.
From Deutschland To Donbas
A car enthusiast with a particular passion for vintage German metal, André procured his 100 — for which he christened Eleanor, after the Mustang from Gone in 60 Seconds — late last year simply because sitting in the back seat of it reminded him of his mom’s old 200. And in a more peaceful world, said leather-lined rear chairs would likely still remain unsullied by boxes of essential supplies or Ukrainians fleeing their war-torn homes.
Unfortunately though, we don’t currently live in that world, and when war broke out in Ukraine earlier this year, André had very nobly decided to quit his job, chucked everything he wanted into his Audi and then promptly drove from Hannover to Ukraine in order to assist in the volunteering efforts over there.
Having first been offered the post of an assistant machine gunner when he first arrived in Ukraine in April, André however initially decided against going directly into battle and instead begun volunteering in Kyiv. It was then though when volunteering in the capital where he soon discovered that there was a shortage of official evacuation services, and being more willing to take risks than others, he and his Audi hence promptly headed into the Donbas region on the 1st of June to further aid in evacuation efforts over there.
Now just for those who perhaps don’t pay attention to the news or are perhaps still unfamiliar with the map of Ukraine, the Donbas region is a territory in east of Ukraine bordering with Russia. Fighting there is currently the most intense within the war-torn country, with the invaders working with pro-separatists groups to literally raze cities and towns to the ground over there. And it is in this area of intense conflict that André and his Audi are currently helping out, by bringing supplies (like food, water, fuel and even mail) to the people who are living amidst the rubble while also evacuating those who desire to flee.
Audi - 1, Rocket - 0
Given that André does indeed have some experience with armouring cars from one of his prior jobs, it might hence be reasonable to expect that his Audi is currently armoured to the hilt. Or would have at least received some kind of light modification to help the old gal out in the literal minefield, right?
Well… no actually, as André’s Audi is (rather incredulously) still completely bone stock. No additional underbody protection, no add-on armour, and not even the legendary Quattro all-wheel drive is to be found on Eleanor. In fact, save for some stickers on the doors and some tape on the rear lights (to reduce light emission when performing night-time evacuation), this 100 is nearly exactly as it left Neckarsulm some 31 years ago.
But perhaps as a testament to how tough these old Audis are though, Eleanor has never once left André stranded. A feat that many would consider borderline miraculous, especially after knowing that this German sedan has shrugged off literal rocket attacks.
Yes, while on a mission from Siversk to Bakhmut, André was unfortunately caught up in a barrage of rocket strikes en route. The first salvo had fortunately missed him, but the second round saw a Grad rocket land just 30 m away in front of Eleanor.
André recounts witnessing the blast right before his eyes, watching the asphalt ahead just begin to fold up and fly off in all directions. Then, a massive crack rung out from right in front of him, as a piece of shrapnel pierced the windshield squarely in front of where André was sitting. By some miracle though, the windshield somehow stayed intact from the impact and Eleanor not only eventually made it to its destination that day, but still drives around massive crater embedded within the glass to this day.
Then there was also the time too that André had to floor the Audi through literal fields under a hail of falling shells returning from Verkhnokamianka. But in spite of this unplanned high-speed off-road detour, the 100 simply just took all of this abuse in its stride and amazingly managed to come out the other end without so much as a scratch. Though it has to be said that with all this constant torture being inflicted on it, Eleanor — being an actual car in the real world and not something out of a movie — has nevertheless unfortunately (but not entirely unexpectedly) suffered a fair few mechanical maladies during its time in the field.
On a trip from Semyhirja for instance, Eleanor was left stranded by the side of the road after its gearbox mount broke from a particularly rough encounter with a bump in Kodema. Rather ingeniously though, after 10 minutes of fiddling around, André soon discovered that while the Audi couldn’t move forward without stalling, it could however move backwards. So that’s exactly what he did, he slammed the Audi in reverse and then proceeded to drive the remaining 5 km backwards to the target destination.
Oh, and as if the act of driving in reverse for 5 kilometres on a public road just wasn’t perilous enough, right after he moved away, shells started to rain from the sky and struck at the exact spot where the Audi was once stranded but a minute ago. According to André, this was apparently a targeted attack on him after probably being spotted by a drone in the sky or someone on the ground. ‘In the heat of the moment, you sometimes forget to look for drones', he adds in a nonchalant tone that is totally not what would be expected from a man who is telling the tale of having survived a drone strike.
And it still is somehow not the end of the story to this single eventful journey yet, as after evading the drone strike and offloading the 300 kg worth of humanitarian aid in Semihyria, André then drove all the way, still in reverse, to another stop about 25 km away in Bakhmut. About halfway there too, the radiator started leaking after a developing a crack, and André recounts having to empty about 20 litres of water into the engine in order to prevent it from overheating or seizing the water pump.
But even with all of the bombings and breakdowns in between, the Audi still nevertheless eventually made it to Bakhmut, and against all odds still keeps its pristine track record for reaching its destination to this day.
Speed Saves Lives
In further recollections of André and his Audi’s literal war stories too, a common theme that appeared was one in which Eleanor’s speed playing a big part in saving the lives of many Ukrainians.
Now of course, while Audi is a motorsport powerhouse and the 100 does indeed have some vague motorsports pedigree from its relation to the race- and rally-winning 200, there is however still no denying that Eleanor isn’t exactly the sportiest or speediest thing to ever wear the four rings.
In fact, the 136 horsepower coming from Eleanor’s naturally-aspirated 2.3-litre engine does sound positively weak, especially when compared against today’s standards. But thanks to a relatively light body and a very helpful dollop of torque from its 5 cylinders though, André does proudly claims that those 100+ middle-aged horses are apparently gutsier than the figures might initially suggest, and when push comes to shove can still (rather incredulously) haul this ancient Audi — with at times up to 7 people in the car — to speeds of up to 160 km/h, on war-torn and battered roads I might add, in order to quickly get everyone to safety.
Credit where credit is due too, the driver behind the wheel of this Audi does also deserve some recognition in being quite the dab hand at going fast under pressure. This is thanks in large part to André having dabbled in some illegal street racing after dark in the hills of Hannover in a past life.
While street racing should certainly not be encouraged, the skill and experience André has gained from his prior activities of questionable legality has no doubt served him rather well during his current missions. Particularly when it comes to night time evacuations, where he frequently has to drive in the pitch darkness without headlights, at speeds of up to 70 km/h.
And while on the topic of driving at night, one rather interesting tid-bit shared by André in relation to his post-curfew evacuation runs is that it is actually less scary for him as a driver to drive after dusk, for the simple (yet rather twisted) reason of him needing to concentrate so hard on the driving to avoid the tanks and cars — which are also driving around without lights on — that there basically isn’t any time or mental power leftover to be scared. And just continuing on too regarding the subject of being scared, André states bluntly that there really is little time for it even when the sun is out. “Fear may come up from time to time, and you'd be stupid if you wouldn't be scared. But we are very used to the danger by now, it's normal already.”
Perhaps in an effort to further reinforce this point too, he then goes on to recall the time where a pair of tanks suddenly pulled out from a side road in his direction. With no markings and being so close to the front lines, André had no way to tell if the giant cannons that were pointing right at him belonged to a friend or foe. But having been so desensitised to the fear already (and also perhaps having balls the size of Jupiter), André simply just spun the Audi around in an instant and then matted it to the nearest safe zone.
An Audi In An Active Ambush
Now having already read about how Eleanor had survived rocket strikes and evaded tanks, one might reasonably consider all this to already be a scary enough experience for a man and his car to go through. But according to André however, all these incidents actually pale in comparison to his time undertaking expeditions into Novoluhanske, where he had to drive through an active Russian ambush killzone every time he got into or out of the town.
According to André, there exists a 5 km stretch of highly dangerous road around that lies between the ambush area and the town of Novoluhanske. And in order not to get killed, the only option was to drive at speeds of around 130 km/h to 150 km/h. All the while avoiding the massive craters that litter the war-torn road.
What more is that dodging around craters in the road is really only half of it, as André also states he has frequently caught air in his Audi from having to floor it over train track crossings. There was even once too that he had to perform a quick Scandinavian flick through the ambush, in order to go even faster when there was shelling near the area.
Of course, all this high-speed driving and dodging does inevitably make for a rather scary passenger ride for the evacuees in the car with him at the time. It was however a literal matter of go fast or get killed, as André remarks that he was subsequently told by the Ukrainian army about there being at least one occasion where a Russian tank had clear sight on the road waiting to strike.
In spite of all this danger that comes with traversing territory where even the military wouldn't go though, André and his team did press on with their evacuation operations from Novoluhanske, and eventually after a dozen or so trips saw about 100 people making their way to safety courtesy of the Audi. As for the town meanwhile, it had unfortunately fallen into Russian hands at the end of July, after consistent shelling for days on end.
"No Modern Audi Could Ever Survive The Front Lines”
When asked about what would make the ideal car for his mission right now, André remains unsurprisingly faithful to the four-ringed brand and stated that an Audi 100 Quattro Avant would be his current go-to choice. A turbocharged example to be exact, and preferably with uprated suspension and rear axle too.
André then goes on to say that a Mercedes W123 300D with mechanical injection could also work for what he does now, as he considers it to be the only other car that would beat Eleanor in terms of reliability. But because it is just too slow and sluggish though, he would still have to go with Eleanor for his duties right now.
And as for a modern Audi meanwhile, André emphatically states that no modern Audi will be able to make it, let alone survive, in the front lines.
“Soft suspension and good ground clearance is absolutely essential when it comes to coping with whatever that is left of the roads,” André explains on his preference towards the older German cars. He further adds that the limited dependence on electronics on his 100 is also a big plus out in the field right now, and its low silhouette too comes in rather handy when attempting to evade detection. He does however eventually concede that as Eleanor is only front wheel drive, a 4x4 off-roader will likely be required when winter comes around.
Please Donate If You Can
In wrapping up this incredible tale of heroism of both man and machine, André does humbly request for anyone who is willing to donate funds in order to help keep his evacuation efforts going. His team have already brought to safety over 400 people to date, but there are still many more in need of supplies and evacuation. The link to his donation page is right here.
André further highlights that while the larger organisations get a lot of financial support, small civil teams however are often left out and need to worry about basically everything at once. And a quick look at his donation page does subsequently confirm this claim, as everything required by SAR Kharkiv/Donbas — from fuel to repairs to even body armour — is funded through online donations.
Rather surprisingly though, according to André, car parts are somehow available in Ukraine, but what he needs right now is the cash to procure said parts. So if you could spare some change then, please do consider tossing a couple of bucks his way, the link to his donation page again is here. And if you really need another reason to donate apart from the obvious saving lives in an Audi bit, André does do a rather do a good job being transparent with the accounting of his operations, which should in itself be commendable given that he’s currently in an active war zone.
If you can’t donate cash however, at the very least then take some time to visit André’s Instagram page and YouTube channel to share with the wider world his amazing (and amazingly heroic) exploits with his Audi.
At the start of the war, the world was captivated by the Ghost of Kyiv, the since-debunked fictitious MiG-29 that was said to have shot down six Russian planes at the start of the war. Well now perhaps there is another symbol of hope amidst this terrible atrocity in the form of Eleanor: the Last Interceptor of Donbas, and better yet this one is confirmed to be the real deal.
And Audi, if you ever get wind of this, the very least you could do is offer this hero of a man a full restoration on his 100. He does more than deserve it, don’t you think?
Slava Ukraini!