Zakspeed 841
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Jonathan Palmer driving the 841 at the 1985 German Grand Prix | |||||||||
| Category | Formula One | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constructor | Zakspeed | ||||||||
| Designer | Paul Brown | ||||||||
| Successor | 861 | ||||||||
| Technical specifications[1] | |||||||||
| Chassis | Carbon fibre Monocoque | ||||||||
| Suspension (front) | Double wishbone, inboard springs | ||||||||
| Suspension (rear) | Pullrod | ||||||||
| Axle track | Front: 1,800 mm (71 in) Rear: 1,600 mm (63 in) | ||||||||
| Wheelbase | 2,820 mm (111 in) | ||||||||
| Engine | Zakspeed 1500/4 1,495 cc (91.2 cu in), Straight 4, turbo, mid-engine, longitudinally mounted | ||||||||
| Transmission | Hewland / Zakspeed 6-speed manual | ||||||||
| Weight | 565 kg (1,246 lb) | ||||||||
| Fuel | Shell | ||||||||
| Tyres | Goodyear | ||||||||
| Competition history | |||||||||
| Notable entrants | West Zakspeed Racing | ||||||||
| Notable drivers | 30.  Jonathan Palmer31.  Christian Danner | ||||||||
| Debut | 1985 Portuguese Grand Prix | ||||||||
| Last event | 1985 European Grand Prix | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Constructors' Championships | 0 | ||||||||
| Drivers' Championships | 0 | ||||||||
The Zakspeed 841 was the first Formula One car built and raced by the German Zakspeed team for the 1985 season. Lead driver was British driver Jonathan Palmer with Formula 3000 driver Christian Danner from Germany joining the team later in the season. The 841 was designed by Paul Brown.
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 factory-backed Alfa Romeo, 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.[2] 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.
The car's designation of "841" shows that the car itself was already behind the times when it started. The 841 was intended to be used by Zakspeed for their entry into Formula One in the 1984 season. However, the project fell behind due to a lack of funds and only began competing in 1985.
Zakspeed's own turbo engine, reportedly based on a Ford block, produced approximately 820 bhp (611 kW; 831 PS) in race trim and 900 bhp (671 kW; 912 PS) for qualifying during the 1985 season.[3] This generally put them behind the leading engines of BMW, Ferrari, Renault, Honda and the Porsche built TAG which were producing around and sometimes over 1,000 bhp (746 kW; 1,014 PS) in qualifying while having around 900+ bhp for races. However the 1500/4 did develop more power than the straight-4 Hart turbo, the Motori Moderni V6 and the Alfa Romeo 890T V8.
