The team did not employ a test driver as they could not afford one, despite sponsorship from German tobacco brand West.

The lack of money also meant that the car's engine, Zakspeed's own 4 cylinder 1500/4 turbocharged power unit, which was rated at about 850 bhp (634 kW; 862 PS) for the season, was also short on power and development compared to those at the front of the grid (Honda, Renault, BMW, TAG-Porsche and Ferrari).

The reduction in fuel tank size to 195 litres for the 1986 season allowed the car to be smaller, permitting better airflow to the rear wing for increased downforce and grip.

For the 1986 season, the team reached an agreement to use a low pressure Bosch Motronic electronic fuel injection system, originally intended for Alfa Romeo's stillborn inline-four turbo.

In qualifying, boost could be raised as high as 4.5 bar, with correspondingly greater power (approximately 1,000 bhp (746 kW; 1,014 PS)).

[4] These figures are comparable to that year's championship winning McLaren MP4/2-TAG/Porsche, which officially produced 850 bhp at 3.3 bar in race trim, although the TAG unit was far from the most powerful in Formula One that season (that title belonged to the special BMW qualifying engines which produced a reported 1,400 bhp (1,044 kW; 1,419 PS)).

During the team's part-time entry to the 1985 season, they had entered a single car for Jonathan Palmer at only the European and British races.