Eifelland Formula 1 Team
German Caravan Company's F1 GP Racing Attempt
The Eiffeland Type 21 of 1972 was one of the strangest looking cars ever to compete in Formula 1. The project was funded by the German Eifelland caravan company, at the behest of its boss Günther Henerici, a racing enthusiast. Eifelland had previously sponsored the promising German driver Rolf Stommelen in junior formulae and had decided to enter Formula 1 with their driver.
Futuristic Formula 1 Car
The Type 21 was actually a March 721, chassis number four. All resemblance to the factory Marches was lost when Eifelland designer Luigi Colani penned the extraordinary bodywork for the new car. Colani was an unusual designer, believing that every surface should be curved. The new car merited a brief mention in the February 1972 issue of Motor Sport magazine, where Denis Jenkinson wrote;
“The Eifelland caravan firm of Germany are continuing to support Stommelen and have a new March that will be thinly disguised to look like something else, though not a caravan I hope.”
It certainly didn’t look like a caravan, and neither did it look like anything else on the grid. The Type 21 featured a sweeping one piece rear wing, a curious cockpit with an airbox integrated into the front of it, and a single rear-view mirror mounted on a large stalk in front of the driver.
Eifelland's 1972 Formula 1 Season
Stommelen gave the new car its debut at the 1972 Brands Hatch Race of Champions, by which time more conventional wings had been fitted. In a field comprised both Formula 1 and Formula 5000 machines the Eifelland struggled home 11th. Its World Championship debut was made at Kyalami, where Stommelen qualified 25th. In the race he was finally classified 13th, after being disqualified then re-instated for a push start on the dummy grid.
The Eifelland looked even more conventional by the time of the Spanish Grand Prix at Jarama, where it was eliminated in an accident. Monaco was better, with Stommelen driving a composed race to finish tenth in wet conditions. In Belgium, 20th on the grid was converted into 11th at the flag.
The rest of the 1972 season brought similar results for the Eifelland team. They were in no way embarrassed by the factory Marches, outpacing them on several occasions. The Type 21’s last appearance was in Austria, after which the team was disbanded. The new owner of the Eifelland company had no interest in throwing money at a mediocre racing car. Despite its modest results the 1972 Eifelland will always be remembered as one of Formula 1’s curiosities.
Rolf Stommelen, Eifelland Formula 1 car
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