The brainchild of Erich Kakowski, a German who built his own cars and engines and who had moderate success in the World Endurance Championship. In 1985 the team entered the F1 Championship. While the engine was sound, the rest of the car was less so and was very soon out of date. It was also terribly unreliable. In ten outings in its first season it managed one finish, and the only highlight came early in 1987 when Martin Brundle finished fifth and Christian Danner seventh at the San Marino Grand Prix. It was one of only two occasions both Zakspeed drivers completed a race.