Zakspeed 841 - Concept

Concept

Zakspeed was already an established racing and tuning company, working in conjunction with Ford. The team decided to enter Formula One in 1985 with their own turbo-charged engine; the established and much larger Ferrari and Renault teams were the only other outfits to build both their chassis and engines at this time. It was the first all-German (engine and chassis) F1 car since the Porsche 804 in 1962. The small size of the team limited it to building just two chassis during the course of the season, which also meant that only one car would be entered for contested events. For financial reasons, the team would not travel out of Europe, limiting itself to a maximum of eleven out of the sixteen Grands Prix. The 841 was designed by Paul Brown, with the 4-in-line engine designed by Norbert Kreyer. Two chassis were built, with the second only being finished in time for the French Grand Prix, the seventh round of the championship. The finished package was generally agreed to be neat and tidy (if conventional), especially in the red-and-white corporate colours of West, the team's title sponsor.

Zakspeed's own turbo engine produced approximately 820 bhp (611 kW; 831 PS) in race trim and 900 bhp (671 kW; 912 PS) for qualifying during the 1985 season.