Bringing in designer Klaus Kapitza from Ford, Kauhsen planned to construct a copy of the Lotus 79,[2] a car that had dominated the 1978 championship due to the use of ground effects.

Apart from the chassis, Kauhsen bought the rest of the components from suppliers, including the Cosworth DFV engine utilised by the majority of the teams at the time, and an outdated five-speed gearbox from Hewland.

The problems in getting working ground effects on the chassis led to the team abandoning the concept, and returning to the older "wing car" that had been in prevalence before.

These redesigns drained the team of funds; Kauhsen struggled to pay the entry fee for the championship, and only managed to acquire older tyres from Goodyear.

[1] Running an updated car at the next race in Belgium,[6] Brancatelli again failed to qualify, with a broken clutch preventing an improvement in pace.