In the 1960s and mostly with a Swedish racing licence, Kottulinsky competed in Formula 3, Formula Vee and Formula 2. When asked for the first time to drive one of three cars that were supposed to support Jean Ragnotti, Kottulinsky, who had neither experience nor desire to race in a desert, declined indirectly by asking for a high salary. Shortly before the race began, the team hired him anyway, and Kottulinsky entered the race with hardly any preparation.
He did not have tent nor sleeping bag, but enough spare parts to keep the car running without having to wait for support.
The design of this four wheel drive system provided the basis for Audi"s Quattro system, which debuted later in 1980 on the original Audi Quattro. In that time, Kottulinsky also trained the mechanics to drive the team"s service vehicles quickly and safely.
This developed into Audi Fahrsicherheitstraining (driving safety lessons), for which Kottulinsky worked 25 years until retirement. Kottulinsky lived in Görkwitz in Thüringen for several years, promoting the local race track Schleizer Dreieck.
At over 70 years of age, he was still entering motorsport events, e.g. on 11 August 2006 with a Datsun 240Z in the AvD-Historic-Marathon-400 on the Nordschleife of the Nürburgring.
He died in May 2010 in Karlstad.
A member of old Austrian-Silesian nobility, in 1953 he went to Sweden, where he set up a repair shop.