The first appearance of his Borgward-engined Lotus was delayed through problems preparing the engine, and Kuhnke missed four races he had entered in the second half of 1962.

This engine was an old Sports Car unit, equipped with twin cams and direct fuel injection.

His single World Championship Formula One entry was at the 1963 German Grand Prix where he failed to qualify by a considerable margin.

After this, he retired from the Kanonloppet at the Karlskoga Circuit in Sweden with fuel injection problems, before moving away from Formula One as a driver.

He subsequently entered two BKL Lotus cars in the 1964 Solitude Grand Prix for Maring and German helicopter pilot Joachim Diel.