Ahh, the 80s! Miami Vice, Madonna, doubtful visual effects and much more interesting than that, the Group 5 of the German Touring Championship that presented us with cars that were too powerful and with an aerodynamics that seems to be the result of well-drinking nights, combined with a liberal spirit .
THE Zakspeed Ford Capri Turbo was one of the cars that most marked the Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft, perhaps for the look, perhaps for the pure sound of a turbo-compressed engine, or perhaps for these and a few more reasons.
At the time, to face its rivals in Division II, Zakspeed decided to bet on a 1.4 l turbo-compressed Cosworth engine as a base, and from then on made its magic.
The result was a block capable of producing 495 hp , which combined with a featherweight of 895 kg, endowed the Ford Capri with an unusual agility for the time, and much more important than that, capable of fighting alongside cars like the Porsche 935 or the BMW M1.
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As for the… exuberant shape of the Zakspeed Ford Capri, the similarities to its production counterpart start at the roof and extend through the A and C pillars and, well… end there. The FIA rules thus dictated this obligation. However, they did not mention the width of the cars, so almost invariably, all brands enlarged their cars.
In the case of this Ford Capri, Kevlar was used as construction material for the new panels and other aerodynamic elements, while some details of the production car were kept, such as the front grille, headlights and taillights. Aside from these details, everything was almost overly large: the rear spoiler had dimensions very close to a dining table and the curved radiators, mounted on the rear wheel fenders, resembled surfboards.
In 1981, Klaus Ludwig becomes DRM champion with 11 championship wins. The car in the video is what Klaus was driving.
Readers of our BANZAI category! (NDR: at the time of publication of the article) perhaps they recognize the aesthetics of the Zakspeed Ford Capri Turbo, after all, the Japanese subculture ‘Bōsōzoku’ was inspired by the cars that raced in this Group 5 of the German championship. The point is that, in good Japanese fashion, they didn't think it was enough and so they tackled it with huge — and when I say huge, I mean almost biblical proportions — aerodynamic pieces.