Welcome to the final episode in this Sidepodcast mini series – Forgotten F1 Teams. We’ve covered from the lows of Life to the highs of Arrows, and now it’s time to check in with our final team – Eifelland.
In your travels, you may have come across a German caravan company called Eifelland Wohnwagenbau. In the 1970s, Eifelland owner Gunther Henerici started sponsoring a couple of teams in the lower formulas, plus German F1 driver Rolf Stommelen. In 1972, Henerici decided that he’d set up his own team for Stommelen and enter the world of F1 constructors. He bought a March 721 chassis, and commissioned Luigi Colani to redesign it. This is where the fun starts.
Colani had good credentials, having designed several successful sportscars, but he didn’t necessarily have all the knowledge required to create a Formula 1 car. Either that, or he was just having a laugh. The rear wing on his design was simply an extension of the bodywork, curving upwards, with no gaps for the air to squeeze through. The front wing was just as odd, and then Colani went and installed an airbox ahead of the driver for good measure. The best bit of the car, though, was the lack of wing mirrors. Colani decided the best way for a driver to see whether he was about to be lapped was by means of a periscope mirror, starting directly in the driver’s line of vision, and extending upwards. With a V8 Cosworth engine and some Goodyear tyres, the Eifelland car was launched.
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