That time Ford defeated Porsche: The Legend of the Zakspeed Capri and Fox Mustang
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- Опубликовано: 16 дек 2023
- This video is a documentary about Erich Zakowski, his cars and the men who drove them. The Zakspeed Capri and Mustangs were some of the most interesting race cars ever made. Zakspeed and Ford takes on the Fire breathing turbocharged monsters of Group 5 and the king of the hill which was the Porsche 935 Turbo.
Video Corrections:
The Kevlar body panels are are not a hybrid of carbon and fiberglass. While there are hybrid Carbon-Kevlar body panels today that use a mixed weave of carbon, kevlar, and fiber glass. The original Zakspeed Capri uses Kevlar. The later Zakspeed GTP Mustang would use Carbon fiber body panels. Besides the original Capri's, and later GTP race cars, I cannot confirm what type of body kits the two Group 5 Mustangs had.
The Saleen Mustang at the end of the video does not use Zakspeed parts that have any affiliation with the Zakspeed company. The Saleen Mustang race car used ground effects that shared a strikingly similar design to those found on the Zakspeed Mustang and Capri. 
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I have the zakspeed capri as a toy back in the 80s and its still on my shelf today 😊
i had a real lotus escort. falcon gt, focus 2.0 tdci. fkn fast.. & my 340 r/t challenger.. id sell them all, for a pantera.. saw one coming down king william st, adelade, 74, no fkn idea what it was, but it had the 15 ft high pantara, down the side,, wanted one ever since, never knew it was ford.. clevo at that, best v8 ever made.. first love, model, was a lambo, countach..
What a great documentary and tribute to Zakspeed.
Can't agree more !
Hans Heyer was also very destinguishe with his famous hat
documentary*
Thanks!@@zavatone
It's impressive that you found some video of the Zakspeed Mustang I hadn't seen. I've been a fan of this car even before I bought my SVO in 1992 (yes, I still have it).
Congrats 🎊🎈🍾 never sell that car !!
My father, Michael, established and ran Ford SVO and helped the Mustang SVO become a reality. I have so many fond memories of that car, especially people's reactions when they found out it was a 4 cylinder turbo! Glad you still have the car, it's an important piece of American automotive history.
that freaking cool bro ... SVO IS SHURE SHOT SUPER DOPE FOX BODY EVER ... FORD SHOULD BUILD ONE ... LESS WEIGHT OVER THE FRONT AXEL ... LETS GO FORD ...
The most fantastic video I saw was about Group 5 cars. I have these Mustangs, Capris, and 7-Eleven cars for build at 1/24 scale. I love them because of their aggressive look and fantastic body lines.
Group 5 and AA/GT cars are the best looking race cars of all time.
Im glad you enjoyed the video! I love the group 5 cars! Somehow they end up being the most futuristic looking race cars years later. Do you have the Roush trans am 7-eleven cars or the GTP? Both are really hard to find.
@@scottsvt9104 😄 Yes, I have all of them. It was s osrt of luck to find them in a Facebook sale. Thanks for the amazing video.
When men were men.
I managed to attend quite a few IMSA races during that period. Unbelievable cars and the competition was fierce. Seems every major manufacturer was getting into the series. Ford, GM, Porsche, Jaguar, Nissan, Toyota, Mazda all took a shot at racing in IMSA.
Those were inspiring times for American racing. Much less sucky than NASCAR.
Terrific old footage! I love those old Zakspeed race cars, just gorgeous! So pure! Safety wasn’t even on the list when they built those cars, not an engineering consideration. Certainly not at the expense of additional weight! That’s race car beauty.
I was an airfreight driver back in the mid 80's and got to deliver body panels and engines from the Porsche factory to Fitzpatrick Racing in San Diego....I loved being in their shop !
They had some bad ass cars. I would have loved to see all those parts… let alone the whole cars.
Great Video. CORRECTION @8:17 'Kevlar' is not Carbon Fibre or Fiberglass - It is a trade marked version of an Aramid fibre, yellow/gold in colour and what is used (without epoxy) in bullet proof vests. For racing Aramid was moulded together with an epoxy resin to form lightweight panels and parts and it was an early 'advanced composite' material that was then in later years blended with carbon fibres roughly 50/50 like what is seen used for the central 'tub' of the Ferrari F40. Ultimately Kevlar was completely superseded by 100% Carbon Fibre with it's more desirable strength to weight prosperities which is why it is still used today for F1 cars etc.
It’s my mistake. I should have worded it better. You are correct! I’m getting my information on the body kit from Jeremy Walton who I believe interviewed Erich Zakowski during the construction of the Zakspeed Capri’s. He stated the Kevlar body kit was at that time a blend of carbon and fiberglass weave. So I’m guessing Zakspeed was a few steps ahead of Ferrari in the composites department.
One more correction: Kevlar was _not_ "an early 'advanced composite' material". The most important property of Kevlar (or Aramid) is the fact that the fibers can't easily be cut, ripped or broken. They stretch when stressed beyond their capability which is far less than what carbon can endure, but they don't easily break. By layering or preferably interweaving Kevlar fibers into Carbon or glass fiber parts they become safer in the case of high force impact: Those parts form lots of cracks but they don't shatter like pure carbon or glass fiber and they are less prone to disintegrate into dangerous sharp shrapnel.
@@TDCflyer Thank you!
Is the carbon fiber as bullet-proof as Kevlar.. sounds like a name that Kevin and Larry came up with....😅
Porsche lover here, but I have to tip my hat to Zakspeed. They put together a sinister car. This era and class of racing is really high on my list because the cars were fast, the looks were outrageously awesome, and the drivers were superb.
Watched from Jamaica. rememger them from car magazines bac in the 80's but very little information then. Than you for sharing.
No problem! I wish there was more info on these cars. It seems much of it is forgotten but the cars were so cool.
absolutely brilliant. the videos of the cars fanging it around the circuits adds to the content. thanks
The best documentation I have seen on the Zakspeed Fords.. Have Germans battle it out with Ford and Porche and we have the best of our brothers in competition. God bless Eric Zakowski and men like him
This is easily the best documentary on this subject I’ve seen. You got a lot of great details that most docs gloss over.
You had to have live it! Back in 1984 I was a junior in high school, but by 1985 Ford was already moving into the GTP Platform, inflation had set in on world markets, and Ford's racing/marketing program money had been wells spent! I'll say this much the Zakspeed cars gave way to one of the most popular cars of it's time, as if the early Mustangs were not a cult enough the Fox Body cars came, went, and are still this day now as collectable as some of the early Mustangs. RIP Eric...
Agreed! Zakspeed really made the Fox Mustangs look Epic. Fascinating really!
Why would I look at a GT Shelby 350 when I've just watched a video on some of the most beautiful and iconic cars ever made. The 70's/80's/90's were the pinnacle of Motorsport. 👍
You are right, it’s hard to compare any modern car to the turbo charged monsters in the video. There is nothing like them today that can compare.
I love how you pronounce Porsche the correct way. So refreshing!
@Under20Secs - Yes, it is. I am an American but am familiar enough with the many competitive car makes that I know the correct pronunciation of Porsche, and I cringe every time I hear it pronounced Porsh! Americans and the Brits are the common violators of the name. It's done in movies all the time.....yuck! Dr. Porsche would be proud of us! 👍👏
I never knew that Zakspeed did a mustang. Gorgeous looking car
Edit. I didn't realise you had so little subs. This documentary was very well put together, you definitely have a knack for this. Subbed in the hope of more of these bangers
Thank you!
I met and spoke to Klaus Ludwig several times during his IMSA days from the Miller Mustang all the way through to the Ford Probe. He was always an underrated driver in the states. He could always get the most out of those cars but the engines turned into a grenade too many times. You were right about Lemans, he was a big advocate of safety and thought the Mulsanne straight was too dangerous, also he thought open wheel racing was dangerous. Even when they broke I always rooted for the Fords!
That’s really cool! I’ve never met him but his racing career is top notch in my opinion.
Yesssss another great Ford pilot was Dorsey Schroeder 💜💜💜man he could drive the wheels off that mustang,, I loved watching him put on a clinic on how to set up a guy for the “Pass” , Master Class 💜💜💜those were the days!!
@@ricardocorbie6803 I’m going to have to watch some of his races now!
Brilliant vid. I never knew of the Zak mustang either. Nice to understand the class 5 cars that "became" group C with the crazy F1 power.
Those cars all look sick
I agree! They were wild! I love the Group 5 cars.
These were always one of my favorite looking racecars but I never knew much about them.
This was so cool! I built that ford car toward the end that wasn't finishing races in 35th scale as a kid, and never really understood its place or history. Thanks for enhancing that knowlege. Used to drive an early foxbody too, and always dreamed of havint that 85 SVO. Subbed, and look forward to more content.
Excellent documentary, thanks for sharing.
Thanks for this i love Escorts and Capris i didn't know Zakowski escaped from East Germany.
Fantastic video, some excellent archive footage, didn’t know much about the Zakspeed mustang.
Any time ANY other maker comes out to play Porsche get beaten like a red headed stepchild.
Theyre reallllllly fkn good at racing themselves.
I can still remember these Zakspeed monters racing on the circuit of Zolder against cars as BMW M1's en e21's. This class of Group 5 race cars of the late 70's to me are still the most beautiful racing cars ever competing on our tracks.
Really enjoyed this video, the Zakspeed Capri is one of my favourite racing cars, what a beauty. The lesser known Zakspeed Fox Mustang is also a very special car, 20” wide front tyres is bonkers!
The Zakspeed is one of my favorite cars for simracing in Race Room Race Experience. Very informative video!!
I absolutely love Zakspeed Capri in simulators. Endless screaming revs and light ultra grip. What comes to ur document, i like ur style 👍keep on making new ones.
Thank you so much for making a group 5 video! I always wanted a yt documentation on it but I didn't find any.
20 inch wide in the front and 24 inch in the back?! DANG that mustang had W I D E tires
Killer cars. Killer looks. Killer drivers. Great video! I love this era of racing.
Such a great tribute to the Zakspeed vehicles, drivers and Zakowski
Awesome video man!!!
Very thankful for this !
So great documentary video. Some guys just premiered some weeks ago a 1 minute video converting the Capri Mk III from Corgi Juniors to the Zackspeed Capri turbo. Can't miss. Congrats for your video!
Thanks! I’ll check it out!
Really well made video love the channel
Superb video, thank you
The footage in this is captivating. Great job and have a sub. It's the Capri for me 😊
Great story. Thank you for your effort in telling it.
Great video. Thanks
awesome content, I'm inspired
This is great. I have a lot of Group 5 footage but never thought of doing a self made documentary. Will give it a shot in the new year.
I’d watch! There’s so many cars to choose from that era. You could probably do a more detailed Zakspeed or Kremer video documentary depending on how much footage you have. BMW has a lot of cool Group 5 cars too.
R.I.P Erich Zakowski
Zakspeed powered RAM in F1. Jonathan Palmer.
Thanks for the documentary. I’m from Vancouver Canada. I’m glad somebody made this excellent documentary. I used to tell people in the 1980s that Ford made cars that destroyed Porsches and they wouldn’t believe it.
I got the bug for Cosworth cars. I currently own a 1992 Ford escort, Cosworth resto modded. I had a sapphire group A tarmac race car which was extremely fast. I also used to own a group A Ford escort built by Ford motorsports in the UK, which I sold about four years ago. I also have a blue 1994 Ford escort cosworth that’s not finished but I’m going to trade it for 2017 RS with my friend.
I have been Ford fan since around 1980. I knew about these cars back then like the RS 200 group B car, The Capri RS V6 Cosworth 3600 etc.
I never liked Porsche back then and I still don’t like Porsche. Who the hell puts a hopped up Volkswagen engine engine behind the rear wheels of a car. No wonder they used to call them widowmakers.
This documentary proves what a bunch of sore losers they were complaining about the spoiler when their spoilers were ridiculously large.
My friend had a 1970, boss 302 Mustang, which he lowered, put Koni shocks on it and sticky tires. On track days he used to make bets with Porsche owners and I don’t think he ever ever lost a race.
Wow, I’ve really been of a similar opinion as well. No one would ever believe me when I said Ford took on Porsche either. I love Fords. I almost bought a Mercury Merker which is very similar to the Sierra cosworth body style but never did. Today I wish I would have because they really didn’t want much for it and it was perfect. I think people overlook Fords racing history in the 70’s and early 80’s but it had some of their best race cars.
I love the classic V8 mustangs and the 4 cylinder turbos. I really don’t understand all the hate the 4 cylinders turbo Fords get. They are awesome cars.
Another thing is you are right about the Porsche with their engine all the way in the back. The Porsche 935 drivers had a nickname for how their race cars handled, they called them Pigs.
@@scottsvt9104 Yes, the four-cylinder Cosworth cars are skyrocketing in price. I bought mine about 10 years ago. They made so many different. I built a 1969 Boss 302 engine around 1980. The Ford engines built in the 1960s are still being used today in all forms of racing and street cars they are bulletproof, they make tons of horsepower and they’re cheap to build. They are still competitive against modern engines. Ford also produced the winningest Formula One engine the DFV. Looking forward to seeing some more videos from you.
@@scottsvt9104 : my father was also a Ford guy. I forgot to mention. First car was a Ford falcon, then a 1965 Mustang notchback, and then he had a beautiful 1969 Mac one orange with a black hood and louvers and spoiler 351 and it had the burgundy deluxe interior.I think he sold it in 1975 for around $2500. Low mileage.
@@scottsvt9104 The Merkur XRT4i was a cool car. Basically a Sierra XR4i bodyshell with an SVO Mustang engine. Small changes were made to meet US safety regs (side intrusion bars, bigger bumpers) and the hood was a bit taller.
Something people forget is that the Capri and the two Merkurs weren't badged as Mercuries. The imported Capris were sold at Mercury dealers, but not badged as Mercuries; only the Foxbody Capri was badged as a Mercury Capri. The Merkur XR4ti and Scorpio were also sold as Mercury dealers, but as Merkurs, never as Mercuries.
16:00 - Opened the door and the driver stepped out. Amazing.
fantastic video!!! more like this pls??
awesome video!
when my father was finished reading his auto sport magazine he gave it to me. i am in love with these cars since then
Great video
Cool video. Loved the editing
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
I love the video!!! i think you should add alittle ambient music in the background to keep me around !!
Ambient music? Good idea!
great vid!
Awesome documentary! This made me immediately think of the Greenwood Corvette
Now the Greenwood Corvette was one radical looking car!
why,??..its chev.. rubbish.. never built a decent engine.. the 454 was a 460 clone.. they should of made the 350 with the 454 design.. go to wreckers, find an 010 block, then give your bank details to speed shop,, chev.. even the LS is a chunk.. like the 6.5td.. rubbish.. holdens here in aus, went to race in europe,, came back,, like little dogs with no balls.. ford meanwhile,,winning world wide.. funny, eh..
Forza Motorsport on Xbox introduced me to the Zakspeed Capri. It was a BEAST in the game and now I have a full documentary on this car and its history? Popcorn is ready!
Damn dude, this video ROCKS ! 👏💪😎
Thanks! And Merry Christmas!
😮Great days ,🇬🇧 zakspeed/cosworth/turbo technics/Tickford/larkspeed and then some
wow, amazing video
Any car with gold BBS is my favourite
Absolutely!
Great video. What was the music that accompanied the Winckelhock piece from 19:41 onwards? Sounds great
I created the music for the video. I wanted to use some more mainstream music but I guess it worked out anyways.
Great video of racing when in my early 20s❤
My first car was a 1976 Mercury Capri
V6 4 Speed. I loved that car. Drove like a go cart
Rare car today!
When I was smaller, there always was these little die-cast cars like HotWheels. A famous one was this Ford, along with some Porsches, remember?
I had to look it up. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it before. A matchbox version of the Zakspeed Mustang. It actually looks pretty good.
In the UK we just say "RS Three one" 👍
Thanks for the video
AMT had a model of the Zakspeed Capri which I still have. After this Mustang/Capri Ford built the Mustang Probe for IMSA GTP racing that was insanely fast.
Something about this era of race cars is simply amazing. These older cars seem way more out of this world than what we have today.
@@scottsvt9104we didn't have the telemetry in engine/chassis management we have today. Aero was still a fairly new thing and we didn't listen to computers entirely.
Back then the old saying was, If it looks good, it probably is good. If it looks right, it's probably right.
It was a fun time to grow up in. When I was a kid, drivers were fat and tires were skinny.😊
Hey, where did you get that picture of the Capri and the German fighter jet? Please let me know if you have a version of it!
I’ve got the pictures saved on my computer. Zakspeed posted them on their Facebook a long time ago. If you want mine I can send you some copies. I think the resolution is pretty good.
1800 pounds with a twin turbo engine putting out over 600 hp sounds like an actual nightmare
Indeed it was one heck of a machine. Absolutely a nightmare.
The 16”/19” wheel setup is ridiculous
Fantastic review of one of my favorite cars. As trivia, the photograph of the Mustang @ 27:11 is my photo...a scan of a Kodachrome slide I took at (then) Sears Point Raceway in 1981. I posted it to an obscure internet forum about 15 years ago. Glad to see it getting use!
I'm very interested in the source of some of the model cars in your video, particularly the Wurth Capri. Are these custom built one-off models or production items?
That’s one Epic photo! Thank you for taking it! The Wurth Capri is a production die cast Werk 83 model and the Porsche is also Werk 83. The Zakspeed Mustang is a sideways racer slot car.
Wonderful Photo, thank you for sharing it. One of my favorite race cars since I made the monogram model in mid 80's! Cheers from New Zealand.
FYI - Tamiya do a model kitset of the Wurth Capri.
Tamiya produced the Capri race car. I have one in my stash to build, that is what brought me to this video. Fantastic information here that will make building the model much more enjoyable knowing the history.
lol the way these guy look after they made them remove the wing, such focus. you could tell the drivers had confidence in their team and the vehicle... you could probably strip the car to the frame and put em on skinny tires... and theyd still win 😂❤
how the heck did they force this and steal his points if it didnt violate any rules?
weaklings make up rules as they go and dont obey them
I actually have a plastic kit of the 06 Zakspeed GTP Mustang.
Just wow!
Great video. What part of the original road car had to be left to qualify as a Capri? It doesn't look like very much!😂
I was always impressed with how zaks peed
There's no denying Gr.5 produced some of the most beautiful cars ever to grace Endurance circuits.
Well, good performance from Zakspeed, but holy shit, this 935 k4...
And then in (i think 1984) Martin Schanke aka Mr Rallycross took the zakspeed capri engine and stuck it in a escort mk2 and won all of the rallycross races! there are some FANTASTIC races with that car...
Worthy of a video itself
@@scottsvt9104 ruclips.net/video/E8mDltN-drY/видео.html There are a lot of video`S on Martin, but not enough on his crazy cars! the man made a 4x4 system for the mk3 escort because he was not happy with anyting on the market at the time.
all powered by zakspeed!
2:35 Schultute! I Remember seeing my father and his siblings with those. Cool. I would love to build a fox body that would look something like the motorcraft imsa cars
we still do those on the first day of elementary school
how do you weld aluminum to steel?
You are right. I don’t think it was welded at all. They probably just welded the Steel body back together around the aluminum frame. Then let bolts and rivets do the rest. No way they welded steel to Aluminum.
Thomas Omerslauger wind tunnel project information of scale model a great way to learn about the capri at speed.
What's with the beauty shots of the model car as if no one would notice lol
Thanks for a great vid - taught me stuff about a series I only knew about second hand. I was aware of the Grp 5 craziness, but not the context.
I have a couple of questions you may (or may not!) be able to answer:
1. Why 1.8 litres for the Grp 1 Capri? The BDA can go bigger than that! Was there a weight to capacity rule that they exploited? Would have been worth a few kilos for a some more capacity!
2. The wing debacle! How could a team as well managed as Zakspeed get this wrong? What was the exact rule they broke? Was it open to interpretation? Did the racing rules makers deliberately favour Porsche so a German company could win?
There is a local Australian connection to Grp 5 and IMSA. We had a series for Sports Sedans and GT cars in the early 80s. There was a 935 and a BMW 3 series that looked just like the ones in the background of your video. They were up against home grown specials with big V8s in as small a body as could be got away with! And some of these had IMSA connections and inspirations - hello Chevy Monza. Here is a link to a vid of probably the best grid of these ever assembled and it all goes horribly wrong!
ruclips.net/video/l04XX0p1fYI/видео.htmlsi=Tr_Phby3UjkO4adt
I’ll give it my best try:
1. I believe Zakspeed was simply trying to get the cars to be as light weight as possible. I feel that they could have gone bigger too. They may have been concerned about cylinder wall thickness and boost. As far as I know you want thick cylinder walls for optimal cylinder pressure. Well I think they did go over 2.0 liters with the GTP car. However at that point the engine was no longer a BDA but a custom F1 hybrid block and head that used BDA architecture. Someone may have a better answer of course.
2. The wing debacle really confuses me as well. If the wing was illegal, how did they let Klaus Ludwig race so many times before outlawing it? I’d always assumed that the reason was because the edges of the wing extended past the quarter panels. Of course the Porsche teams were notorious for using the biggest wings before Zakspeed tried it. Maybe they didn’t believe a Ford could be so fast so they had to blame something. I’m really just speculating. I wish I knew the real reason.
Also that video you posted is nuts. They crash immediately at the start and pile upside down on top of each other. The Chevy Monza race car was a really cool looking car though.
@@scottsvt9104
Thanks for the response.
I agree the cylinder wall thickness and light weight approach are probably the best answer.
Glad you liked the video!!
holden did the same with ford in aus,, any excuse to win.. holden used ford parts,, but thats o.k.. @@scottsvt9104
To 1): Weight, per regulation 1,79 litres x 1,4 turbo factor was the maximum to stay inside the 2,5 litre displacement category which dictated a minimum weight of 800kg. This was also probably the maximum the BDA could do since to max out the 3,0l category it would need 2,14 litres of displacement and would also bump up the min weight to 860kg.
@@reneengelke3218
Thanks for that!
We had that same 1.4 multiplication factor for capacity in the Australian Sports Sedans back in the day. Right now don’t know what it is, but 2 or more would be better!
The BDA could probably get to 2.14, but at the cost of wafer thin cylinder walls blowing up due to turbo pressure 😱
I wonder if they thought about a 2.1 V6?
Try to pronounce him "Erish Tsakoffsky". Also: Don't compare Nordchleife lap time bak in the late 70s/early 80s because of complete different track layouts. Otherwise this is a really great informative, well researched and edited video. Congratulations!
Thank you! I was afraid I’d be pronouncing some of the names wrong. Next time I’ll refrain from comparing old and new lap times.
@@scottsvt9104 Here´s a german documentary about him, where you can clearly hear the pronunciation of his name. fyi. Sadly he died a few weeks ago... In german motorsport circles he is THE legend.
Gut verdenglisht
@@MRPTRS-yu9pt Hahaha! Da ich das Phonetik-Alphabet nicht beherrsche, ist mir nix besseres eingefallen.
Yes, the complete old Ring was also considerable longer.
This makes the old Records even more impresiv!
That quarter mile time for Porsche 8.9 seconds at 133 mph doesn’t really compute unless it ran out of gear at the 1000 ft mark . Running low 9’s at 155 mph .
12" "lower to the ground"? I didn't know Capris sat that high
I was on that Saleen team in the late 90's. There was nothing from Zakspeed there. The cars were more closely tied to the Nissan GTP program than anything else.
Right there was nothing from the Zakspeed company on the Saleen. But Steve was definitely inspired by Zakspeed with the underbody air foil ground effects even if he did so unknowingly from the Nissan GTP. That style was only used in the late 95-96 Saleen race cars. Once they went wide body they stopped using them in favor of the multiple row diffuser instead. The Saleen team only used those Zakspeed style diffusers very briefly. Possibly you worked with those ground effects.
You can see the rear ground effects in these two videos. Only other Mustang in history to get that style ground effect to my knowledge is the Zakspeed Fox Mustang. Of course Steve was getting that style from the Nissan GTP car but the Zakspeed came before it. I’m speaking about inspirational evolution. The legacy of that ground effect style was shared on later cars that had no affiliation to Zakspeed. They used the design because it was proven to work. I apologize in that I should have been more clear as in stating that the style is the same as the Zakspeed, because I do hope nobody thinks I’m saying the gas tank cover on the GT350 is from Zakspeed. I promise you that is not my intention.
ruclips.net/video/QLUWSb4ODLk/видео.htmlsi=hrKvhqh74RgHuP2V
ruclips.net/video/Oc9ywrhqNC8/видео.htmlsi=NfjdQWSCO89HmZbu
@@scottsvt9104 I'm just trying to give you the real information from someone that was there. What you do with it is up to you. I've pro raced my entire career. This was one of my early stops.
First and foremost, Steve Saleen did exactly nothing in terms of the car beyond saying what stickers went where and driving. He did not pay for that racing. It was a combination of Tim Allen's money early and the Johnson (Ron Johnson was one of the drivers) family money later. You may get the impression I don't care for Steve much. That impression is correct.
The entire design of the GT2 car (which was a little later than the WC car you showed, but the only one with real underbody aerodynamics which would compare to the Zakspeed cars) was done by an engineer name Chris Willis. He was the one who had previously worked with the Nissan's at Electromotive and that car was his from top to bottom. I'm not aware of Ford having any influence on the project.
The aero rules were for a flat bottom, so between the axles was just flat carbon sheet. I believe under the nose was flat, so we were giving away front downforce there by not having small diffusors ahead of the front tires. The rear diffusor was an angled flat plane with several strakes, which was pretty normal fare. We played around with dive planes, gurneys, wings, etc. out at Willow Springs. At the end of the day, when we had someone reasonable driving the car, it was competitive. When we didn't, it might not even make the race (Laguna Seca).
Peter Brown was the fabricator who built most of it. He was a spectacular guy. We'd mountain bike in the foothills behind the shop after work (the race shop was a couple miles away from the Saleen production facility). Dave Walsh was the crew chief and Roy Baker was the team manager. He was paralyzed during a back surgery in the fall of 1997 and never truly recovered. Years later, I was able to help him in a race in Adelaide. I always felt good about being able to help him out. He certainly helped me. A couple of our mechanics had come from the PPI CART team that was only about 10 miles away in Rancho Santa Margarita. One of the mechanics had come from the Saleen production side. The gearbox guy, Mary Armstrong, is still working in Indycar as far as I know. I did wiring and data systems.
It was a cool experience, but there was no connection to Zakspeed other than we both were racing Ford products.
@@MrTL3wis Thank you very much for that information! I can never find any in depth information on the 90’s Saleen team or what really happened. I would like to do a documentary on those cars and the people who were involved on the ground. But I’m reluctant to do it because of a lack of information. If you have any books that would lead me in the right direction if would be much appreciated! Other than that I’ll look up these men you mentioned. As you can see I’m no expert on the Saleen team. I only know by what was on the TV and whatever narrative they were pushing at the time.
@@scottsvt9104 Roy Baker was the team manager. I just remembered his name. Look him up...he was from Group C and a racer like none other.
Does anyone reproduce the Mustang body kit? I know the Capri kit is available.
3 Dog Garage just finished restoring the red Zakspeed Mustang. I’m pretty sure they just reused the original kit but I’m not 100% certain. A good body man could take the Capri kit and possibly fab the front fenders in fiberglass or carbon. I think the rear quarters, front spoiler and rear wing are the same on the Capri and Mustang.
@@scottsvt9104 thanks for the info and I’m sure it could be. Would love to have 1 of each configuration someday!
@@dejoncoleman6862 Yeah, it would be awesome to own both. There would be nothing like them on the road.
What a great story about a really cool time in racing. Firstly, This was in a time when broadcasting races, mostly taped, from Europe began, American racing, ABC wide world of sports!. And then there were the magazines. This was the information source. Photos, schedules, race results, like a month at a time remember. No way to know, but then, we started getting the BBC and sometimes you might hear a race result. But Rally cars - that was my thing. It was a big deal to have Ford, spelled exactly the same as in America, racing in Europe, especially when you're competitive. Grp B guys were insane but I didn't know much other than, those are the most insane photos of awesome cars flying through the air with suicidal nuts lining dirt roads in the rain and mud. That shit made my bedroom walls come alive with color, action, shock&awe - I didn't really know shit other than, cool pictures and hell yea! beat Porsche's ass! .... what do kids know HAHA! Very cool piece man! good job! Things that deserve to be remembered. I didn't but then, it came to me as I said, I remember something about this and the names were familiar - then you said Grp-B AHA!
Good job! Excellent piece - could trim a little more "Porsche" tape wouldn't kill it :D ~ Besides, for Porsche fans, all you have to do is say the name, their eye's glaze over and they freeze, like a chameleon or a possum. Immobile, incapable of reaction. So whatever happens after the magic word, they don't take it in anyhow, not until the spell wears off - like they were in a time warp and the first words were, "Ah, yes, we were discussing the dominance of Porsche, yes..." and there it is again...eternal happiness. But it could be worse, yes, true. There's the "F" word fans. You start talking racing history and they begin to drool and wet themselves....least I think it's pee, could be the other fluid. All I know is they can't stop talking about it like it's cocaine or something.
Haha 😂 I should have put in more Ford footage in instead. You are right there’s plenty of Porsche footage to go around. I probably said Porsche more times than I can count in this video.
13:44 I really believe there is a typo in that magazine and Posrches 1/4 mile time should have been 9.8sec, not 8.9. Trap speed of 133mph also indicates this.
Yeah you are probably right because if it was really 8.9 it should be 140mph or more. 9.8 seems to be a lot more accurate.
Lancia masterfully built rollcage sounds more like an oxymoron or sad joke when looking at what they sent out to rally in the 80s
I think the Rollcage played a minor role in this tragedies
Ford has proven its dominance time and time again through the decades. Well when it wanted to. Just think if ford would just not jump in and out of all the great racing series and just stay with it. Total Domination.
Ford has a history of dropping out of road racing soon after big successes.
I am biased but capri is a stunning car and thats why it is my all time favourite race car and production car full stop When people say that 4 cyl are rubbish show them a zakspeed capri racing 1.4 and 1.7 liter engines honest listen to the scream and howling 4 cyl
Great documentary! I read the comments and cannot wait for the people who complained to produce their own documentary about something, so we can nitpick it. 😂😅😮😢
Right? 😅
I hate when the original aspect ratio is not kept. Why do you have to expand the original ratio???
The way you annunciate is funny as shit. Whether you're meaning to do it or not is another thing.
Caaars, Mustaaang
Ford just beats everyone on their own game bravo FORD!
How did they weld the aluminum tube frame to the factory steel body? Are you sure it was an aluminum tube frame? That's a very unique (and not necessarily good) choice.
To be honest I’m not sure how they mated the steel body to the Aluminum tube frame. It might actually be combo of steel and Aluminum. I know nascar can weld everything together but they don’t use Aluminum. Aluminum tube chassis in this case were used in most race cars but it was banned because it wasn’t safe. These Aluminum roll cages caused a huge controversy back in the day.
At 27:00 you said the fox body Mustang was placed on top of the German Cologne bodied Capri's original chassis?
This I did not know, and dad was a Ford VP.
During this time, I owned, raced, and hit the SoCal car shows with a 1976 Cologne Capri painted and striped to look identical to a British Capri 3.0S. It had upholstery from the SVO Mustang. It ran low 13's with the heavy 5mph bumpers removed which was plenty fast enough to beat any Mustang or IROC I would come across on the street.
The Zakspeed Mustang is pretty wild. The body is a real Fox Mustang that’s been mated to the bottom half of a Capri and entire space frame and suspension is the same as the Zakspeed Capri. The American Capri’s are really rare now and I’ve never seen a mid 70’s version in person. I have seen the later Fox Capri’s but those are a lot different. Your car sounds like it was pretty sweet for the time. The classic Capri’s had a very sleek design.
Yeah, it is the one I should have kept forever. @@scottsvt9104
This is a comparable story to Lancia and Peugeot beating Audi in the Rally Championship. Just like Audi with their rally car, Porsche held on to the just-modify-a-911 concept for too long, whereas Ford Zakspeed went with a purpose-built race car. That meant the Ford Zakspeed was both lower and therefore more aerodynamic, and it was much lighter, as it didn't have a relatively heavy road-going chassis as base. It's simply a case of looking at the car you want to beat and build a car that uses the strenghts of that car and improves upon the weaker points of that car.
The 935 was a 911 and the zakspeed mustang was a ground up racer. Theoretically the zakspeed should have the advantage, so what car today is legend?
To survive a crash in a Lancia at that time, is nothing sort of blind luck